Region-based bridging of calls using client-specific control and revised caller identifiers

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods are disclosed for client-based control of revising caller identifications (IDs) for communications between a private network and a public network. An apparatus including a telecommunications-providing server and processing circuit that communicates client-specific sets of data over an interface protocol. The telecommunications-providing server revises a caller ID for a VoIP call based on the client-specific sets of data, an identifier that corresponds to a requesting endpoint, and a geographic region determined from the call request. Further, the telecommunications-providing server causes control data to be sent to activate an analog-telephone bridging circuit and redirect the VoIP call by obtaining a dial tone and passes at least a subset of the data packet through the analog-telephone bridging circuit for connecting over the local line. The subset of the data packet includes the revised caller ID which is a local number identified by the determined geographic region.

OVERVIEW

The instant disclosure relates generally to communication systems and,more particularly to communication between endpoint deviceswide-area-networks (WANs), such as the internet and local area networks(LANs). For ease of reference, endpoint devices are sometimes referredto simply as an “endpoint” and where they are configured with VoIPcapability, they are sometimes referred to as a “VoIP endpoint.” Eachsuch endpoint or endpoint device refers to or includes communicationscircuitry with programming/configuration data specific to thecommunications protocol(s) for which the endpoint is enabled. In manycontexts, endpoints and VoIP endpoints (which are VoIP-capable) aretelephones commonly used and referred to as IP phones such as used ondesktops, mobile (smart) phones, desktop CPU stations, laptops, tabletsand the like. For ease of reference, a WAN may be referred to as apublic network and a LAN may be referred to as a private network. IPaddresses used for identification of endpoints in the public network maybe referred to as public IP addresses and IP addresses used foridentification of endpoints in the private network may be referred to asprivate IP addresses. Public IP addresses are issued by a centralauthority known as the Internet Assigned Number Authority (“IANA”).

Due to the limited number of the currently used IPv4 type IP addresses,in many communications environments there are insufficient public IPaddresses to identify all endpoints uniquely in a private network. Thisissue is addressed in part by network address translation (“NAT”) ascurrently used in many networks to allow multiple endpoints in a privatenetwork to be identified on a public network using the same public IPaddress. In this regard, the multiple endpoints of the private networkcommunicate data via a single public IP address. For each connectioninitiated by an endpoint, a NAT pathway is created and maintained by aNAT circuit for a limited period of time. The NAT pathway maps a privateIP address and port of the device to an exclusive port of the public IPaddress. By mapping devices to different virtual ports of the public IPaddress, multiple endpoints may be uniquely identified by the port: IPaddress combination—thereby allowing the endpoints in a private networkto communicate on the public network using the same public IP address.

Certain portions of the instant disclosure more particularly relate totelephone services as used in the communications industry. Thecommunications industry continues to rely upon advances in technology torealize higher-functioning systems at cost-effective prices. Telephonysignals can now be transmitted by methods and systems includingtraditional public standard telephone networks (PSTNs), Internettelephony service providers (ITSP), packet-based systems, digitalwireless systems, analog wireless systems, private branch exchanges(PBX), cable systems, T1 systems, integrated service digital networks(ISDN), and digital subscriber line (DSL) systems, to name a few.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various example embodiments are directed to issues such as thoseaddressed above and/or others which may become apparent from thefollowing disclosure concerning communications systems involving, forexample, VoIP-enabled endpoints and/or methods for providing remotetelecommunication services for endpoints.

Certain exemplary aspects of the instant disclosure are directed toembodiments used in telecommunication systems which convert or translateaddresses of endpoints for effective communications within a largercommunications network or set of networks. Various embodiments areuseful for communicating between endpoints in a private network andendpoints in a public network and that allow for entities to control thecaller identifications (IDs) provided to the receiving endpoint. Therevised caller IDs, in specific aspects, are revised to reflect acurrent physical location of the requesting endpoint or the geographicregion of the called or receiving endpoint. Endpoints in the privatenetwork can have various caller IDs that are provided along with a VoIPcall and that are associated with different geographic regions of theentity. For example, an insurance company can have offices throughoutthe United States, with endpoints distributed at each office. When anemployee makes a call using the telecommunication service provider, thecaller ID is provided to the receiving or called endpoint, such that thereceiving endpoint may call the employee back. In some instances, theentity may revise the caller ID provided, so that the call appears to befrom a local number and/or a different number as desired. For example,the entity can control revision of the caller ID based on a set of rulesand/or different geographic regions.

Specific aspects are directed to an apparatus that is provided as partof a telecommunication network in which remote telecommunicationservices are provided. The apparatus includes atelecommunications-providing server, such as a server of thetelecommunication service provider, and processing circuitry. Thetelecommunications-providing server can provide Voice over InternetProtocol (VoIP) communication service relationships with a plurality ofdisparate client entities by controlling communication betweenendpoints. Each of the plurality of disparate client entities can haveassociated endpoints. The processing circuitry and/or a processingcircuit can belong to or be under the control of one of the cliententities (e.g., each client entity has or is in control of a processingcircuit). For example, a processing circuit can communicate with thetelecommunications-providing server by generating client-specific setsof data. The client-specific sets of data can be used to remotelycontrol routing within the telecommunication network by the respectiveclient entity and without the telecommunication service providermanually revising the routing and/or without providing the client entitywith information on the processing by the telecommunications-providingserver. Specifically, the client-specific sets of data can be indicativeof client-specific communications routing and/or client-specificcommunications data, and are conveyed over an interface protocol. Eachof the telecommunications-providing servers and each of the plurality ofdisparate client entities communicate using an interface protocol tofacilitate a variety of permissible types of communication.

In related specific aspects, the telecommunications-providing server canbe used to communicate between endpoints of the private network andendpoints of a public network. For example, endpoints provide datapackets to a port of the telecommunications-providing server to requestVoIP calls. In response to a data packet received at a port of thetelecommunications-providing server requesting the VoIP call, thetelecommunications-providing server determines a geographic region thatan endpoint identified using the data packet (e.g., the called orreceiving endpoint) is located and whether a local line should beaccessed. A local line may be accessed when the called endpoint isassociated with a land line and/or the public network. In specificaspects, in response to an indication that the local line should beaccessed, the telecommunications-providing server revises a caller IDfor the VoIP call based on the client-specific sets of data, based on anidentifier that corresponds to an endpoint requesting the VoIP call, andbased on the determined geographic region. For example, a specificclient entity may provide that all endpoints of a particular office or asubset of endpoints of a particular office have their numbers changed toa local number as indicated by the called number. In other embodiments,an endpoint is calling an emergency service and has traveled from theirassigned geographic region. The caller ID can be revised to a localnumber identified by the determined geographic region, such as thelocation of the called endpoint and/or the location of the emergencyservice provider/where the user is actually located.

In some aspects, the telecommunications-providing server causes controldata to be sent to activate an analog-telephone bridging (ATB) circuitand redirect the VoIP call by obtaining a dial tone and passing at leasta subset of the data packet through the ATB circuit for connecting overa local line. The subset of data may include providing the emergencycall number (e.g., 911) from a dialed number (e.g., 8_911) and/or alocal number (650-123-1234 from 8_650-123-1234) and the revised callerID. Alternatively and/or in addition, the control data causes accessingand passing of a provisioned VoIP number for connecting to the endpointidentified (e.g., the called endpoint). For example, the provisionedVoIP number can be among a plurality of VoIP numbers. The plurality ofVoIP numbers are set aside for the different geographic regions and canbe used for connecting through the ATB circuit to the local line orthrough the telecommunications-providing server for connecting to anumber being called. As a specific example, some emergency serviceproviders, such as in France, may be unable to use existing numbersand/or local lines. The provisioned VoIP number can be used to connectthe user to the emergency service provider and may be registered withthe emergency service provider (such that they recognize the number).

In a specific implementation, the telecommunications-providing serverreceives a data packet requesting a VoIP call at a first port of thetelecommunications-providing server and responds to the data packet bydetermining a geographic region that an endpoint device identified usingthe data packet is located and whether a local line should be accessed.The telecommunications-providing server responds to the data packetindicating that a local line should be accessed by revising a caller IDfor the VoIP call based on the client-specific sets of data, based on anidentifier that corresponds to the endpoint requesting the VoIP call,and based on the determined geographic region, and causes control datato be sent. The control data activates an analog-telephone bridgingcircuit and redirects the VoIP call by obtaining a dial tone and passingat least a subset of the data packet through the analog-telephonebridging circuit for connecting over the local line. The subset of thedata packet includes the revised caller ID that is a local numberidentified by the determined geographic region. Thetelecommunications-providing server further responds to another datapacket received at the first port requesting an additional VoIP call bydetermining a geographic region that an additional endpoint identifiedusing the data packet is located and whether a local line should beaccessed. The data packet can indicate that a local line should not (orcannot be) accessed for the call. In response, thetelecommunications-providing server revises a caller ID for theadditional VoIP call based on the client-specific sets of data, based onan identifier that corresponds to the additional endpoint requesting theadditional VoIP call, and based on the determined geographic region, andconnects the additional VoIP call by accessing and passing a provisionedVoIP number (e.g., to connect the additional VoIP call between theidentified endpoint and a called endpoint). The provisioned VoIPincludes the revised caller ID which is a local number identified by thedetermined geographic region that the additional endpoint is located.

The above discussion/summary is not intended to describe each embodimentor every implementation of the present disclosure. The figures anddetailed description that follow also exemplify various embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

Various example embodiments may be more completely understood inconsideration of the following detailed description in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1A-1B show examples of a communication network, configured inaccordance with one or more embodiments;

FIGS. 2A-2B show examples of a process for performing region-basedbridging of a VoIP call using a revised caller identifier in accordancewith one or more embodiments;

FIGS. 3A-3C show other examples of a process for performing region-basedbridging of a VoIP call using a revised caller identifier in accordancewith one or more embodiments; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example hierarchy of controldirectives for client-specific control by an example client, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

While various embodiments discussed herein are amenable to modificationsand alternative forms, aspects thereof have been shown by way of examplein the drawings and will be described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention tothe particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention isto cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe scope of the disclosure including aspects defined in the claims. Inaddition, the term “example” as used throughout this application is onlyby way of illustration, and not limitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure are believed to be applicable to avariety of different types of apparatuses, including systems and/ordevices, and methods involving redirection and bridging of calls betweena private network and a public network using revised calleridentification (IDs). In various implementations, the caller IDs arerevised to reflect a current physical location of the requestingendpoint or the geographic region of the called or receiving endpoint.Some example implementations are directed to providing remotecommunication services for endpoints associated with a plurality ofdifferent client accounts and allowing for client-specific control ofthe revised caller IDs. Some example implementations are directed toapparatuses and methods for performing IP-address mapping (such as NAT)for data communicated between a public network and a private networkhaving endpoints located in a plurality of defined geographic regionsusing an analog-telephone bridging (ATB) circuit connected to one ormore local (or fixed) lines. In certain embodiments, aspects of thepresent disclosure have been shown to be beneficial when used in thecontext of location-based routing of data in networks. While notnecessarily so limited, various aspects may be appreciated through thefollowing discussion of non-limiting examples which use exemplarycontexts.

Accordingly, in the following description, various specific details areset forth to describe specific examples presented herein. It should beapparent to one skilled in the art, however, that one or more otherexamples and/or variations of these examples may be practiced withoutall the specific details given below. In other instances, well knownfeatures have not been described in detail so as not to obscure thedescription of the examples herein. For ease of illustration, the samereference numerals may be used in different diagrams to refer to thesame elements or additional instances of the same element, and variousembodiments are described without any specific reference to theillustrations disclosed herein. Also, although aspects and features mayin some cases be described in individual figures, it will be appreciatedthat features from one figure (or characterized embodiment(s)) can becombined with features of another figure or embodiment even though thecombination is not explicitly shown or explicitly described as acombination.

Remote service providers can provide communication services for aplurality of different customers and across both private and publicnetworks. Customers may be given client-specific control allowing forcustomization of the servicers. This might include customizable autoattendants, call routing, call forwarding, revising caller IDs,voicemail, or other features. For particularly large clients with manydifferent telephone accounts and numbers, implementing and updatingthese types of customizations can be a significant undertaking. Certainembodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward an interfacethat allows a client-specific control engine to access and dynamicallyadjust the manner in which remote services are provided for the users ofa client account during operation, while maintaining the integrity andsecurity of the underlying system for providing the remote services. Ina specific embodiment, and as an illustrative example, a VoIPcommunication system may be configured to allow a client-specificcontrol engine to dynamically modify and control the call flow andprocessing at all levels within the system, via the interface, including(re)routing of incoming calls to an ATB circuit and selectiveidentification of when to revise caller IDs.

In specific embodiments, the client-specific control can allow for anentity to revise caller IDs presented for a VoIP call whencommunicating. Endpoints in the private network can have extensions(e.g., phone numbers) that are distributed and/or associated withdifferent geographic regions. Respective endpoints have an assignedextension that is used as a caller ID when placing VoIP calls and thatincludes a local number of the respective geographic regions. Forexample, a first endpoint is associated with Florida and has a caller IDof a local phone number in Florida. One or more of the endpoints can bemobile, such as a mobile phone and/or computing device. When theendpoint is located in a different location than the respectivegeographic region it is assigned to, VoIP calls from the endpoint usethe same respective caller ID (e.g., local phone number for Florida)such that the VoIP call appears from the same telephone numberregardless of where the user is located. In some instances, the cliententity may customize revision of the caller IDs to reflect the currentlocation of the endpoint and/or to reflect a geographic location of thetelephone number being called. For example, a user may be calling anemergency service where providing current location information of theuser may be beneficial. In other specific examples, a sales person maybe making sales calls and having the VoIP calls appear as a local callmay increase the likelihood of the call being answered.

In certain specific embodiments, a communication system includes atelecommunications-providing server(s) configured to provide VoIPcommunications for endpoints of a plurality of client accounts. Theendpoints may include VoIP-enabled devices (e.g., IP phones, smartphones, tablets, and/or desktop computers with appropriate VoIP softwareapplications) and/or non-VoIP endpoints (e.g., plain old telephoneservice (POTS) telephones and cellular-capable devices). Each endpointis respectively associated with an account of a respective cliententity. Endpoints may be associated with a particular client account byregistering the endpoint with a particular client account serviced bythe telecommunications-providing server(s). Registered devices for eachclient account may be specified in a respective account settings fileaccessible by the telecommunications-providing server(s). The endpointsin the private network and endpoints in the public network arerespectively associated with different sets of IP addresses. Forexample, the endpoints in the private network have a first set ofrespective IP addresses and the endpoints in the public network have asecond set of IP addresses.

In different embodiments, the telecommunications-providing server(s) mayprovide VoIP communications using various processes and circuits. As oneexample, the telecommunications-providing server(s) may provide VoIPcommunications by 1) routing and establishing VoIP calls for theendpoint of each of the plurality of disparate client entities accordingto and responsive to client-specific sets of control data, and 2)generating call event data for the routed VoIP calls. A particularexample of a telecommunications-providing server may use sessioninitiation protocol (SIP) to handle various call functions (e.g., callsetup and tear down). However, the various embodiments discussed hereinare not necessarily limited thereto. Consistent with the above and inother embodiments disclosed herein, the telecommunications-providingservers can be configured to establish a leg of the call from the VoIPendpoints (or dial peers) to another VoIP endpoint or to a gateway. Forexample, the telecommunications-providing server can activate an ATB tocommunicate between an endpoint in the private network and an endpointin the public network. An ATB circuit is an analog gateway configured toprovide a private network with connectivity to the public network. TheATB circuit can connect to one or more local lines to allow forcommunication between the public network and the private network. TheATB circuit utilizes the one or more local lines connected to it andredirects a call to the public network, such as an emergency serviceprovider and/or endpoints that are not part of the private network(e.g., local or toll free telephone numbers).

The VoIP system can be used to direct telecommunication calls via datapackets received by a telecommunications-providing server from anendpoint within the private network to another endpoint within thepublic network or private network. The telecommunications-providingserver can be part of a VoIP PRI Gateway that uses a variable extensionprotocol to enable direct routing of calls between endpoints via theprivate and the public networks. In response to a data packet receivedat a first port of a telecommunications-providing server that has afirst IP address of the first set of IP addresses (e.g., identifies anendpoint in the private network), the data packet is used to determine ageographic region where the endpoint is located, which is identified bythe first IP address. Further, the data packet is used to determinewhether a local line should be accessed for the requested call.

The data packet received at the first port can include data identifyingthe other endpoint that the endpoint is attempting to call. For example,the data packet can include an extension that identifies the otherendpoint or corresponds to information for connecting over the localline through the ATB circuit. The telecommunications-providing serveruses a variable extension protocol to interpret whether the data packetreceived at the first port either corresponds to an extensionidentifying another endpoint in the private network or in the publicnetwork. Alternatively and/or in addition, the variable extensionprotocol can be used to interpret and identify which of a plurality ofdifferent extensions in a branch office (e.g., a geographic region) istargeted by the data packet at the first port.

In response to the endpoint (identified by a first IP address)indicating that the local line should be accessed, the ATB circuit isactivated by providing control data to the ATB circuit. The indicationthat the local line should be accessed can include the call number forthe VoIP call including an emergency provider number (e.g., 911) and/ora digit indicating a local telephone number or toll free-number (e.g.,an “8” before the telephone number of seven digits, ten digits, elevendigits, or the emergency provider number). In specific embodiments, theATB circuit can redirect and connect to an emergency service providerwhich is specific to the geographic region and assigned for emergencycalls of a certain type and that are initiated on behalf of the privatenetwork.

In various embodiments, the communication system includes one or moreprocessing circuits configured to implement client-specific controlengines configured to dynamically adjust the VoIP communicationsprovided for a respective client account via an interface. For example,the client-specific control engines may generate client-specific controldata by processing a respective set of control directives for the clientaccount. The control directives may be customized by each client entityto customize dynamic adjustments of VoIP services to be performed forVoIP calls of endpoints of the client account. As described above andbelow in further detail, the control directions can be used to controlrevised caller ID provided for particular calls. For example, aparticular entity can establish a set of rules for controlling revisedcaller IDs across all geographic regions and/or specific to geographicregions and/or particular endpoints.

In certain embodiments, the client-specific control engines provideclient-specific control data to the telecommunications-providingserver(s) via an interface protocol that characterizes the format inwhich the client-specific sets of data are communicated to thetelecommunications-providing server(s). According to variousembodiments, data is communicated via the interface protocol usinghigh-level programming language instruction set. The high-levelprogramming language instruction set allows a programmer access to thetelecommunications-providing server(s) (or PaaS computing server(s)providing remote services) by way of a controlled and limited set ofcall control operations and functions. The limitations on the operationscan be particularly useful for allowing programming control to be placedinto the hands of different customers of the provider of the VoIPservers. For example, the provider can update or make other changes tohow the telecommunications-providing server(s) are configured withoutrequiring modification to documents written to use the high-levellanguage, which might otherwise be required to account for the changes.Moreover, the telecommunications-providing server(s) and their data canbe protected from poor programming decisions (intentional or otherwise)by tightly controlling the extent that the documents provide control oraccess the inner workings of the telecommunications-providing server(s).Each of the telecommunications-providing servers and each of theplurality of disparate client entities communicate using the interfaceprotocol to facilitate permissible types of communication

Consistent with the above-characterized embodiments, at the client sideof the VoIP communications services, the client's computer-basedprocessing (e.g., by the client-specific control engine) generates andsubmits control (routing/data-communication) directives for assessmentand use by the VoIP communications service provider. In a typicalimplementation, these directives can be realized using codes or one ormore commands (or a script of program-created commands). As examples,such codes or command sets can be implemented using a variety ofprogramming control approaches. These approaches include, for example, aprogramming language (such as C++, XML, JAVA, HTLM, SQL, etc.) common toboth the client-specific control engine and to the VoIP communicationsservice provider, which receives the directives (submitted from theclient side) for adjusting the VoIP communications services beingprovided to the submitting client. In some implementations, look-uptables with codes/commands as entries can be used by the client engineseach time a service change is needed. The entries can be pre-generatedby the service provider for use by the client, manually entered byeither the client or an installer, and/or generated by logic circuitry(such as implemented in hosted FPGA fabric). Entries may be generated bylogic circuitry based on a set of limited assumptions and conditionsapplicable to that specific type of client and its serviceexpectations/subscription (e.g., no more than 10 extension phone linesin any designated geographic region, only 2 designated extension linespermitted to videoconference, etc.)

For many less-complex applications/client needs, a hardware accelerateddecision making circuit (e.g., logic circuitry implemented in hostedFPGA fabric) can be tailored specifically for the types of datainformation and call-routing decisions needed by the submitting clientin real time and dynamically as the VoIP communications service providerauthenticates the client and its submitted control directives. Forexample, a client may have an increasing number of branches or franchiseoffices, each with only 1-2 videophones/smart-terminals requiringminimal video/audio services. For each such office, the client-specificengine (in the form of a hardware accelerated decision making circuit)is configured and arranged to execute functionality, which is specificto obtaining and assigning phone numbers (as part of the client's PBXpackaged telephony services). The submitted control directives result inthe VoIP communications service provider modifying the actual servicesprovided to the client, in dynamic fashion and in a manner consistentwith the client's ongoing needs. The communications, which can includeland-line and/or requests for PBX numbers, to the VoIP communicationsservice provider are verified in each instance for client identificationand the client-based subscription status for the relevant services.

By using a common interface protocol (e.g., the programming language,codes or command sets) which is understood by the VoIP communicationsservice provider, authentication and updating for added (telephony)services is readily achieved automatically and remotely withoutburdening the VoIP communications service provider with cost-intensiveset up procedures. Depending on the level of services beingadded/changed for each client, and/or depending on the client'smanual-operator and/or automated technology, the control directives canbe generated and submitted in various (coded) ways such as describedabove and also, for example, by dial tone input generated remotely onbehalf of each client, by smartphone application specific to the client,by voice recognition, or combinations thereof. The client engine canalso prompt the user to effect and select decisions upon certainclient-generated or provider-prompted events. Consistent with theinstant disclosure, control directives can be generated by the client(and/or client engines) based on various criteria/parameters

According to particular embodiments, a client-specific control enginecan send requests to a Web server and get control directive responsesfor processing, thereby operating in a stateless manner that is similarto HTML/Internet browser. The client-specific control engine caninterpret the received control directives and render (execute) buildingblocks. Each building block can define functions relating to voice, callcontrol, and flow control logic. The client-specific control engine mayalso execute other types of code, such as Javascript, to create dynamiccontent for client-side flow control. A control directives document mayhave URL links to a web server for iterative processing, or it mayinclude query requests for retrieving data from various sources. A querycould be formatted for consistency with the source of the data (e.g., byusing JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) to retrieve data from thirdparty application servers or from the VoIP server provider's clouddatabase). This information can then be used to drive call flow or callcontrol decisions.

In various embodiments, flow control decisions are based upon coderunning on the client side or on the server side. As non-limitingexamples, a client side computer system could run code that is writtenusing Javascript or TCL while a server-side computer system might runcode that is written using PHP, NodeJS, Python, Scala, Ruby, .Net, orother web languages. For example, a customer can write Javascriptapplications that are configured to receive call event notificationsfrom the VoIP servers and to generate client-specific control dataresponses that are provided back to the VoIP servers. In someembodiments, a client-specific control engine may generate queries tovarious databases, whether the database is controlled by the client orVoIP provider.

Consistent with certain embodiments, the call control engine andhigh-level programming language interface may provide options that allowfor authorization and authentication services to be accessed and used aspart of the call control functions. For example, the high-levelprogramming language can be used to direct the call control engine toaccess an authentication server that performs verification (and grant)of access rights for certain databases or services.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the VoIP servers canbe configured to use different high-level programming languages fordifferent functions, where each programming language has a different setof commands. For example, a first high-level programming language can beused to create documents that control call routing decisions for highvolumes of call traffic, as might occur at the edge of a VoIP provider'ssystem. These call routing decisions can, for example, identify aparticular branch office or an IPBX of a particular customer. Theidentified IPBX might then have additional documents written tocommunicate using a second high-level programming language that istailored toward more specific call processing capabilities that might beassociated with a particular account or another identifiable grouping.The distinction between the two programming languages can beparticularly useful in terms of improving the scalability of the system.For instance, the language used for call routing decisions can berelatively light weight, with fewer commands and capabilities. Inparticular implementations, the first (call routing) language cancontain a subset of the commands available in the second (callprocessing) language.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed toward VoIPservers that are designed to provide options for dynamically updatingand accessing control directive documents using the high-levelprogramming language. For instance, the VoIP servers can be configuredto facilitate uploading of new control directive documents as desired bya customer. Consistent with certain embodiments, the VoIP servers can beconfigured to allow for complex hierarchal solutions that can improvescalability of the system. For example, call control decisions that areshared between certain groups of accounts can share a common templatecontrol directive document that can be updated once for all of thegroups. The shared control directive document can link to other controldirective documents that are specifically tailored to individualaccounts in order to provide individual customizable options. Consistentwith some embodiments, there can be multiple levels of shared controldirective documents and scripts. For example, a first template controldirective document might specify call processing functionality for anentire company. A second set of template control directive documentscould be used at a country level (e.g., one template control directivedocument for the United States and one template control directivedocument for Canada). A third set of template control directivedocuments could then be used for each branch or store of the company.Finally, individual control directive documents could be used for eachindividual account. The shared, higher-level files can be updated oncefor a potentially large number of individual accounts, while stillproviding a level of individual configurability for each of theaccounts.

According to various embodiments, the high-level, domain-specificprogramming language(s) are defined using a markup language as the basisfor the language structure. More particular embodiments use extensiblemarkup language (XML). An XML model defines the constraints on thehigh-level language, including defining the set of valid commands thatcan be carried out by the VoIP servers. Within these constraints, acustomer can write XML code that self-describes the building blocks usedin the customer's particular application. Another aspect of the callprocessing XML is that it allows for various different data structuresto be embedded into the XML document or file. For example, a scriptwritten in Javascript can be embedded as character data that the VoIPservers are configured to identify and execute. Unless otherwise stated,the use of XML in connection with various embodiments does notnecessarily limit the corresponding embodiments, such as limiting theembodiments to the use of only an XML-based language(s).

As described in more detail with reference to the figures, one or moreclient-specific control engine(s) and/or control directives may beconfigured to adjust provided services, acquire data metrics and/oranalytics, and/or trigger various other action at multipleorganizational levels of a client entity. In some embodiments, differentsets of control directives may be used to control from different remoteservices at different levels and/or gather data metrics from differentsources at different levels. Data metrics gathered from one level and/oranalytics derived therefrom may be used by control directives to controlremote services provided for a different level of the client entity.

Using the respective client-specific set of data for an entity of therequesting endpoint, the telecommunications-providing server canselectively revise caller IDs provided for respective VoIP calls. Thecaller ID can be revised based on the client-specific set of data for arespective client entity, which can include a set of rules for revisingcaller IDs for the entire entity, for specific geographic regions, forspecific offices, and/or particular endpoints. For example, as describedabove, the telecommunications-providing server receives a request for aVoIP call at a port and which includes a data packet. The data packetidentifies the endpoint requesting the call and the endpoint beingcalled. Using the data packet, the telecommunications-providing serveridentifies a respective client entity and corresponding client-specificset of data that is associated with the requesting endpoint. Thetelecommunications-providing server, using the client-specific set ofdata, determines if a caller ID should be revised for the VoIP call. Thecaller ID can be revised based on the client-specific sets of data,based on an identifier that corresponds to the requesting endpoint(e.g., the extension), and based on the determined geographic region (ofthe called endpoint and/or where the requesting endpoint is physicallylocated). In some embodiments, using the data packet, thetelecommunications-providing server determines a geographic locationwhere the requesting endpoint is physically located (e.g., an assignedmapping through which a set of private IP addresses in the privatenetwork is associated with a set of public IP addresses and/or NAT'ddata), which is used to determine if the caller ID should be revised. Inother embodiments, the telecommunications-providing server compares anarea code of the called number to the extension of the requestingendpoint to determine if the caller ID should be revised.

In some specific embodiments, the determination can include identifyinga set of rules for revising caller IDs for the client entity anddetermining if the VoIP call requested and/or the requesting endpointsatisfy the rules. The set of rules can identify endpoints of therespective client entity that (via the telecommunication-providingserver) are to have revised caller IDs. As a specific example, the setof rules for an client entity may include that all endpoints of aparticular geographic region have caller IDs revised to be a phonenumber that is within a threshold distance of a called number (e.g., toan endpoint of the public network and/or an endpoint of private networkbut that corresponds to a different entity). As another specificexample, the set of rules may identify a subset of endpoints located ina particular geographic region that always have revised caller IDsand/or during a particular period of time have revised caller IDs. Inresponse to the VoIP call requested and/or the requesting endpointsatisfying the rules, the telecommunications-providing server revisesthe caller ID for the VoIP call from the assigned or previous caller IDto a revised caller ID that includes a local number identified by thedetermined geographic region. Specifically, the revised caller ID can berevised from the extension or identifier corresponding to the requestingendpoint to a local number based on the determined geographic region,which is where the requesting endpoint is physically located and/or isbased on the local number or geographic region of the called number.

The telecommunications-providing server, responsive to an indicationthat a local line should be accessed, in some embodiments, activates anATB by providing control data (e.g., derived from control data sent bythe telecommunications-providing server and/or a related server in thedetermined geographic region) to the ATB circuit. In specificembodiments, the ATB circuit can be activated by the control data thatis provided by the telecommunications-providing server and/or theregion-based NAT circuit. The telecommunications-providing server and/orthe region-based NAT circuit can send the control data to the ATBcircuit using the identifier among the second set of respective IPaddresses. In various specific embodiments, the region-based NAT circuitis used to replace the first IP address in a source address of thereceived data packet with the second IP address to produce a NAT'd datapacket. The NAT'd data packet is used as information (such as thecontrol data or a portion thereof), for connecting over the local linethrough the ATB circuit. The ATB circuit responds to the control data byconnecting to the local line, such as a local dedicated line and/or aPRI line. In response to the activation, the call associated with thedata packet received at the first port (of thetelecommunications-providing server) is redirected to the public networkby obtaining a dial tone and passing at least a subset of the datapacket through the ATB circuit.

Alternatively and/or in addition, the data packet (or an additional datapacket requesting an additional VoIP call) may indicate that the calledendpoint is within the private network and/or that a local line may notconnect to an emergency service provider. For example, in somegeographic regions, such as France or other countries, thetelecommunication service provider may be unable to issue emergencyservices on existing numbers in the area. Thetelecommunications-providing server can access and pass a provisionedVoIP number for connecting to the endpoint identified, such as theemergency service provider. The provisioned VoIP number can include alocal number of the geographic region which the requesting endpoint isphysically located and that is registered with the emergency serviceprovider. In specific embodiments, the telecommunications-providingserver can set aside a plurality of provisioned VoIP numbers that areset aside for the different geographic regions corresponding to therespective client entity and used for connecting VoIP calls (such as foremergencies).

The data packet may indicate that the requesting endpoint is callinganother endpoint in the private network. Thetelecommunications-providing server can bridge or route the VoIP callfor communications between the requesting endpoint and the calledendpoint. In some specific embodiments, an entity may indicate to revisethe caller ID when an endpoints calls another endpoint within theprivate network using the client-specific set of data. In response tothe data packet identifying the call is to another endpoint in theprivate network, another identifier among the second set of respectiveIP addresses is used to cause a call associated with the data packetreceived at the first port of the telecommunications-providing server tobe bridged (or routed) for communications between the requestingendpoint identified by a first IP address of a set of private IPaddresses and a called endpoint associated with the second IP address ofthe set of private IP addresses.

As a specific example, a first client entity may be attempting tocommunication with an endpoint at a second client entity that is acustomer of the first client entity. As another more specific example, arestaurant corporation and a food delivery corporation both use thetelecommunication service provider for remote calling services. Amanager of the food delivery corporation places a call to a manager of aparticular chain of the restaurant corporation as a sales call. The fooddelivery corporation can control the caller IDs displayed such that thecall appears to be local to the particular chain of the restaurantcorporation, even if the manager of the food delivery corporation isphysically located in another state. As another example, an employee ofan insurance company may be a sales account manager for multiple statesand often travel to different local offices. When the sales accountmanager is located at a particular office and calls an endpointassociated with a second employee located at the particular office, theinsurance company may change the caller ID used for the VoIP call sothat the second employee is aware where the sales account manager ispresently located and/or which room the sales account manager islocated. When the sale account manager calls endpoints of other officesand/or endpoints of the public network, the caller ID may not be revised(or may be in some cases).

The telecommunications-providing server can set aside a plurality ofprovisioned VoIP numbers that are set aside for each of the differentgeographic regions. In this manner, the client entity and/ortelecommunication service provider can avoid provisioning local numbersindividually for each call (e.g., avoid provisioning thousands ofnumbers). For example, a first geographic region has a first set ofprovisioned VoIP numbers and a second geographic region has a second setof provisioned VoIP numbers. In some embodiments, the provisioned VoIPnumbers can be associated with particular client entities and/oremergency service providers. As described above, one or more provisionedVoIP numbers can be registered with the emergency service provider. Thetelecommunications-providing server can pass one of the provisioned VoIPnumbers for the determined geographic location through the ATB circuitand/or through the telecommunications-providing server for connecting toa number being called.

In accordance with many embodiments, the VoIP system can provide thecommunicated data packets between a public network and a private networkusing a region-based NAT. In response to a data packet from a first portof a private IP address, used to identify an endpoint in the privatenetwork, a geographic region of the private network that includes anendpoint identified by the private IP address is determined. A public IPaddress is selected from a set of public IP addresses that is mapped tothe determined geographic region in the database. An available port ofthe selected public IP address is assigned for NAT. NAT is performed fordata communicated between the public and private networks using amapping of the first port of the first IP address to the second port ofthe second IP address.

Different embodiments may utilize various circuit arrangements toperform region-based NAT. In certain embodiments, a region-based NATcircuit includes a first network interface circuit configured tocommunicate data over the private network using a set of private IPaddresses to identify endpoints in the private network. The region-basedNAT circuit also includes a second network interface configured tocommunicate data over the public network using a set of public IPaddresses to identify the endpoints. A NAT processing circuit coupled tothe first and second interfaces is configured to perform theregion-based NAT using respective subsets of the set of public IPaddresses specified for each of the geographic regions in a database.

The processing circuit may perform region-based NAT using variousprocesses. As an illustrative example, the NAT processing circuit mayperform region-based NAT by performing operations including:

-   -   1) in response to a data packet from a first port of one of the        private IPs, determining which of the plurality of geographic        regions the endpoint identified by the first private IP address        is located;    -   2) selecting a second IP address from a subset of the second set        of IP addresses specified for the determined geographic region        in the database;    -   3) assigning an available second port of the selected IP address        for NAT; and    -   4) performing NAT for data communicated between the public and        private networks using a mapping of the first port of the first        IP address to the second port of the second IP address.        In some embodiments, the region-based NAT circuit may include        additional circuits configured to perform one or more of the        above operations. For example, in some embodiments, the        region-based NAT circuit may include a region determination        circuit configured to determine the geographic region-based on        the private source IP address indicated in the data packet. The        geographic region may be determined, for example, by looking up        the geographic region in a stored table mapping the private IP        addresses to the geographic regions. As another example, the        region-based NAT circuit may include a mapping circuit        configured to determine the subset of public IP addresses to be        used for NAT for the determined region. The mapping circuit may        determine the subset of public IP addresses, for example, by        retrieving the subset of public IP addresses from a database        mapping the public IP addresses to the geographic regions in the        private network.

In certain embodiments, region-based NAT is used to facilitatelocation-based routing of data in private networks. In location-basedrouting, the resources (e.g., network paths and/or data servers) used toprovide service to endpoints may be adjusted based on the geographiclocation of the endpoints. Location-based routing may be used, forexample, reducing latency, enhancing quality, and/or improvingefficiency in many network applications. Additionally or alternativelylocation-based routing may be used to enhance security for networkcommunication. For instance, due to political, security, or complianceconcerns, the traffic from a specific geographic region might need to behandled in a certain way (through a particular route/data center, etc.).

In a public network, geolocation of an endpoint can be obtained, forexample, based on a public IP of the endpoint from IP registration data,IP geolocation services, or various other sources that correlate an IPaddress with a geolocation. However, it can be difficult to distinguishand determine location of endpoints in a private network after NAT hasconverted private IP addresses to one or more shared public IPaddresses. One or more embodiments utilize region-based routing tofacilitate location-based routing in private networks. Region-based NATallows the geographic location of endpoints in the private network to beidentified at a region level based on the public IP used for NAT andcommunication via the public network. Since region-based routingperforms NAT using a different subset of public IPs for each geographicregion, a public network device (e.g., a server) may determine thegeographic region of a private network endpoint based on the public IPused to identify the endpoint on the public network, or in someembodiments, based on the combination of the public IP and private IP asa tuple, which can provide further accuracy. The geographic region maybe determined from the public IP using, for example, a database thatmaps each geographic region to the public IPs used for NAT. The IP togeographic region mapping data may be stored in a local database (e.g.,in a memory of the public network device) and/or may be stored in aremote database communicatively connected to the device (e.g., via thepublic network). The private IP address can further be used for granularlocation of the person within a building, structure, and/or campus,among other locations.

After determining the geographic region of the endpoint, a publicnetwork server may select resources to provide service to the endpointbased on the determined geographic region. For example, a server mayselect the network paths for communicating data to the endpoint based onthe geographic location of the server and the geographic region of theendpoint. In different implementations, a server may cause data to berouted over the select path using various processes. In someimplementations, the server may control routing of data by selectingfrom a plurality of internet service providers to communicate the dataover the public network. Additionally or alternatively, the server maycontrol routing by prepending routing table entries provided to routingnodes connected to the server in the public network. Prepending maycause a routing node to believe a connection between the node and theserver includes a larger number of network hops than the actual numberof hops. By prepending entries provided to certain routing nodes, datapaths used to route data from the endpoint to the server can bemanipulated. Conversely, in some embodiments, the server may cause anaccess point or other device in the private network to prepend routingtable entries to manipulate data paths used for routing data from theserver to the endpoint.

Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, server(s) to be usedto provide service for an endpoint may be selected based on thedetermined geographic region. For instance, a service provider may havemultiple servers geographically distributed in a public network forproviding service to endpoints. When a service request is received, oneof the servers may be selected to provide service to the endpoint basedon the determined geographic region of the connected endpoint. Forinstance, connection requests may initially be received by a loaddistribution server configured to assign one of the servers to providethe respective service based on the geographic region. In someembodiments, the load distribution server directs the selected server torespond to the service request and provide the requested service to theendpoint. Additionally or alternatively, the load distribution servermay direct the requesting endpoint to contact the selected server forservice.

The load-distribution server may be incorporated into various devices onthe public network. In some embodiments, the load-distribution servermay be incorporated with one or more of the servers available forselection. For example, each server may be configured to select one ofthe servers, based on geographic region, in response to receiving aservice request from an endpoint. If the server selects itself, theserver communicates with the endpoint to provide the requested service.Otherwise, the server directs the selected server and/or endpoint tocause the selected server to provide the requested service for theendpoint. As another example, in some embodiments, the load-distributionserver may be implemented by domain name server (DNS) in the publicnetwork. For example, the DNS may be configured to direct an endpoint tocontact different ones of the servers by controlling the IP address(es)that is provided in response to a domain name query. In someembodiments, the load-distribution server may select a subset of theservers based on the determined geographic region and direct theendpoint to select and contact a server of the subset for service. Theendpoint may select a server from the subset, pseudo randomly, based onweightings provided by the load-distribution server, and/or based onvarious other criteria (e.g., network performance, available accesspoints, and/or user preferences).

In some embodiments, selection of resources for providing the requestedservice to the endpoint may additionally or alternatively select one ormore nodes in the private network, for communicating data with theendpoint, based on the determined geographic region. For example,endpoints in a particular region of a private network may be able toconnect to the public network via multiple access points. For instance,a private network may be connected to the internet by access points formultiple types of connections (e.g., DSL, cable, fiber, and/orsatellite) and/or by multiple internet service providers. The accesspoint used for communication between the server and the endpoint may beselected based on various parameters in addition to or in lieu of thegeographic region of the endpoint including, for example, geographiclocation of the endpoint and/or server, transmission characteristics ofconnections between the access point and the endpoint and/or server(e.g., bandwidth, latency, dropped data packets, BER, and/or trafficload), type of data to be communicated (e.g., text, images, webpage,voice/audio, and/or video), or various combinations thereof. Values ofthe parameters may be specified for each access point, such as, in thedatabase that maps the geographic regions to the public IP addressesused for network address translation. Alternatively or additionally, thevalues of the parameters may be retrieved from one or more other datasources including, for example, internet-connected data repositories,and/or third-party data subscription services. If the selected accesspoint is different than the access point used to communicate the servicerequest, the load-distribution server may prompt the endpoint to contacta selected server via the selected access point. Contacting the selectedserver via the selected access point causes the NAT circuit to assignthe endpoint an available port of the public IP address used for NAT forthe selected access point.

Resources (e.g., servers, data paths, and/or access points) used toprovide a requested service to an endpoint for routing data via publicand/or private networks may be selected using various processes. In someembodiments, resources may be selected according to a selectionalgorithm specified in a configuration settings file. The configurationsettings file may be stored locally or in a remote database. Theselection algorithm may select resources based on various criteriaincluding geographic region of the endpoints, transmissioncharacteristics in the public and/or private networks (e.g., bandwidth,latency, dropped data packets, and/or BER), traffic load of availableaccess points and/or servers, date, time, or various combinationsthereof. The selection algorithm may select resources to improve variousoperating parameters. For example, resources may be selected to reducelatency by circumventing delays attributable to longer and/or congesteddata paths on the public and/or private networks, balance load betweennetwork resources, and/or improve routing efficiency on geographicallydiverse private networks.

In some implementations, the algorithms/criteria for selection ofresources may be implemented using one or more machine learningalgorithms (e.g., an evolutionary algorithm). The machine learningalgorithm may be evaluated and adjusted in a training process to improveperformance and/or accuracy of the algorithm. Training may includesupervised or unsupervised learning. In some embodiments, a settingsselection algorithm may be adjusted to use a different weighting ofparameters on a trial basis. If the modified settings selectionalgorithm improves performance in the network(s), the modified settingsselection algorithm may replace the current settings selectionalgorithm. Otherwise, the modified settings selection algorithm may bediscarded.

The disclosed embodiments may be adapted to facilitate location-basedrouting for various types of communication of various types of data.While embodiments are not so limited, for ease of explanation, theexamples are primarily described with reference to servers configured toprovide VoIP services for endpoints. Further, while the above discussionrefers to use of NAT for communicating within network, embodiments inaccordance with the present disclosure do not necessarily require use ofregion-based NAT. For example, an assigned mapping can be used that mapsprivate IP addresses in the private network with a set of public IPaddresses and can be used to identify geographic regions correspondingto the public IP addresses.

For ease of explanation, the examples are primarily described withreference to selecting resources when service is initially requested byan endpoint in a private network. However, the embodiments are not solimited. For example, in some implementations, resources may bedynamically selected and/or adjusted while providing service to anendpoint. For instance, a selected server may be configured to monitorvarious parameters while providing the service to the endpoint. Themonitored parameters may include, for example, geographic location ofportable endpoints (e.g., wireless connected endpoints) in the privatenetwork, transmission characteristics of the data paths in the publicand private networks (e.g., bandwidth, latency, dropped data packets,BER), traffic load of the access point and/or servers, type of data tobe communicated (e.g., text, images, webpage, voice/audio, and/or video)or various combinations thereof. Responsive to the monitored parameters,the server may select different resources to continue providing servicefor the endpoint.

According to one or more particular embodiments, a particular cliententity establishes control over revising caller IDs for endpoints usinga client-specific set of data. The client-specific set of data iscommunicated to the telecommunications-providing server via an interfaceprotocol. A sales person that is located in Miami, Fla. calls a customerthat is located in Columbus, Ohio. The customer has an endpoint that ispart of the public network. The sales person initiates the VoIP call bydialing the telephone number of the customer with a digit as a prefix(e.g., 8-650-123-1234). In response to dialing, the endpoint that thesales person is using outputs a data packet to thetelecommunications-providing server to request the VoIP call. The datapacket identifies the requesting endpoint, the called endpoint, and thegeographic regions in which the customer and the sales person arelocated. The telecommunications-providing server uses an identifier ofthe requesting endpoint to determine the client entity that isassociated with the sales person and corresponding set of rules forrevising caller IDs for the entity (e.g., using the client-specific setof data). The set of rules indicates that the sales person should haverevised caller IDs when the called number is greater than 20 miles away.The telecommunications-providing server compares the geographic regionof the identifier corresponding to the requesting endpoint to thedetermined geographic region that the customer is located (e.g., usingthe area code of the called number and the area code of the extension ofthe endpoint). In response to determining that the local number ofColumbus, Ohio is a geographic region that is more than 20 miles awayfrom Miami, Fla., the telecommunications-providing server revises thecaller ID to a local number of Columbus, Ohio, and activates the ATB toconnect to a local line and bridge the call to the customer using therevised caller ID.

If the customer is instead located in Miami, Fla., thetelecommunications-providing server actives the ATB to connect to thelocal line and bridge the call using the original caller ID (e.g., thatcorresponds to the requesting endpoint). Further, if the customer isassociated with an endpoint of a private network, thetelecommunications-providing server can be used to provide thecommunication.

The company of the sales person can have offices throughout a particularcountry and/or the world. A set of local numbers in different geographicareas are provisioned for the company. Sales persons at differentoffices can have their outbound caller IDs dynamically adjusted andselected from the set of local numbers for the company based on thenumber that is called and the area of the number that is closest(distance and/or area code wise).

As another example, an employee of a company may travel for work anduses their mobile phone for communication purposes. While the employeeis travelling to a company office in Florida, the employee encounters anemergency situation and makes a call to an emergency service provider(e.g., dials 8_911 or 911), such as a call to the local police. Theemployee's caller ID, if un-revised, will appear as a non-local numberand will not indicate the employee's location to the police. In responseto dialing the emergency number, a data packet is provided to thetelecommunications-providing server. The data packet identifies therequesting endpoint, the called endpoint is an emergency serviceprovider, and the geographic regions in which the requesting endpoint isphysically located. For example, the telecommunication service provideridentifies the endpoint of the employee is associated with anothergeographic region, Wisconsin, and that the endpoint is presently locatedin Florida based on a public IP address provided in the data packet. Thepublic IP address is compared to a database to identify if the public IPaddress is known.

In a number of specific embodiments, the telecommunication-providingserver can identify an emergency service is being called based on thedialed number and, optionally, client-specific data sets (e.g.,identifying emergency service number in particular geographic regions,like France). The telecommunication-providing server can identify thephysical location of the employee based on the public IP address and theclient-specific data sets. In a specific example, the call from thecompany office in Florida is NAT'd to the same public IP of other knownendpoints in the Florida office. The telecommunications-providing servercompares a geographic region that the user is assigned to, using anidentifier, (e.g., Wisconsin) to the current physical location (e.g.,Florida). In response to the employee being at a different physicallocation than assigned, the telecommunications-providing server revisesthe caller ID to a local number identified by the current physicallocation. If the physical location is the same, the caller ID is notrevised.

In some geographic regions, an emergency service cannot be issued onexisting numbers in the areas, such as in France. For example, assume,an employee of a client entity is physically located in France whencalling the emergency service, the telecommunications-providing serveraccesses and passes a provisioned VoIP number for connecting to theemergency service provider. The provisioned VoIP number includes arevised caller ID having a local number of the geographic region whichthe requesting endpoint is physically located and that is registeredwith the emergency service provider. The telecommunications-providingserver connects the VoIP call, between the requesting endpoint and thereceiving endpoint, by accessing and passing the provisioned VoIP numberwhich includes the local number as the revised caller ID.

In some instances, when a revised caller ID is provided, the calledendpoint may call back. For example, the employee calls the police andhangs up before all information can be obtained. In other examples, thesales person calls a customer and does not reach them or for otherreasons the customer calls back. As a revised caller ID is provided, theemergency personal and/or customer are calling a number that is notimmediately associated with the person that called. Thetelecommunications-providing server receives the request for the callthat includes the revised caller ID and looks up (in a database andusing the client-specific sets of data) what endpoint in the privatenetwork last made a call using the revised caller ID. In case of a callback for a non-emergency call (e.g., a sales call), other informationcan be used to make decisions on handling of the call back. The otherinformation can include the age of the call/how long ago the originatingcall was made, and/or information from external sources such as acustomer relationship management (CRM) application or an enterpriseresource planning (ERP) application. Otherwise, in response toidentifying the previously requesting endpoint, the call is redirectedto an extension of the requesting endpoint and which corresponds to anextension/telephone number that is different than the revised caller ID.As a specific example, the employee in Florida, whom has an extensionlocal to Wisconsin, calls the police with a revised caller ID showing alocal number in Florida. The employee accidentally hangs up and thepolice call back using the revised caller ID. Thetelecommunications-providing server receives the request for the calland identifies that the employee last made a call using the revisedcaller ID for the local number in Florida. Based on the identification,the call is redirected to the extension of the employee (e.g., a localnumber in Wisconsin). If the employee does not answer the call back fromthe police, the telecommunications-providing server redirects the callfrom the police to an extension determined by the physical locationwhere the employee is located (e.g., the Florida office). The extensionis identified based on the client-specific set of data and can includean identified front desk or security service of the client entityassociated with the employee. Although the above-describes a callbackfrom an emergency service, embodiments are not so limited, and callbackscan be from customers and/or for other commercial uses that can beperformed in a similar manner.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1A shows a communication network 100,configured in accordance with one or more embodiments forcommunicatively coupling a private network 114 with a plurality of dataservers (e.g., sometimes herein referred to as VoIP servers and/ortelecommunications-providing server) 102 and 104 connected in a publicnetwork 108 (e.g., the internet). The data servers are configured toprovide telephony/communications services (such as atelecommunications-providing server for providing VoIP telephonyservices as exemplified by 8×8, Inc.) to endpoints connected via one ormore networks.

The telecommunications-providing server(s) 102, 104 can allow for anentity to revise caller IDs presented for a VoIP call when communicatingbetween the private network 114 and the public network 108. In specificimplementations and for a variety of purposes, the caller IDs arerevised to reflect a current physical location of the requestingendpoint or the geographic region of the called or receiving endpointbased on the needs of the specific client entity. The control isprovided by communicating client-specific sets of data that areindicative of client-specific communication routing and/orclient-specific communication data and over an interface protocol usinga processing circuitry (e.g., the client-specific control engine 112).The client-specific sets of data can include a set of rules indicativeof when and how the telecommunications-providing server should revisecaller IDs. The set of rules for a particular client entity can beacross the entire entity (e.g., high level), specific to particulargeographic regions (e.g., intermediate level), and/or specific toparticular endpoints (e.g., low level).

A private network 114 is connected to the public network 108 by aregion-based IP-address mapping circuit (such as via NAT circuit 110).The private network 114 includes a plurality of endpoints 130, 132, 134,136, 138, 140, 142, and 144 distributed across a plurality of geographicregions 120, 122, 124, and 126. The private network 114 includes a setof access points 116 or 118. Each access point communicatively couplesendpoints in one or more of the geographic regions 120, 122, 124, and126 to the public network 108. In this example, the endpoints in theprivate network 114 are connected to the public network 108 via multipleaccess points. For instance, endpoints in each of the geographic regions120, 122, 124, and 126 are connected to each of the access points 116and 118 either directly or indirectly via the other access point.Various embodiments may include more or fewer access points.

The endpoints 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, and 144 in the privatenetwork 114 can have extensions (e.g., phone numbers) that areassociated with the geographic region 120, 122, 124, and 126 therespective endpoint is distributed in. When placing VoIP calls, theextension (e.g., assigned extension) is used as a caller ID and includesa local number of the respective geographic regions. As a specificexample, a first endpoint 130 is associated with Florida and has thecaller ID of a local phone number in Florida. One or more of theendpoints can be mobile, such as a mobile phone and/or computing device.When the endpoint is located within a different geographic region thenthe respective geographic region it is assigned to, VoIP calls from theendpoint use the same respective caller ID (e.g., local phone number forFlorida) such that the VoIP call appears from the same telephone numberregardless of where the user is located. The client entity may customizerevisions of the caller IDs of endpoints to reflect the current locationof the endpoint and/or to reflect a geographic location of the telephonenumber being called.

For the above-described embodiments and those following, unlessotherwise indicated, an ATB circuit can be implemented as needed for theembodiment/application as appropriate. The private network 114 caninclude a plurality of ATB circuits 146, 148, 150, and 152 distributedacross a plurality of geographic regions 120, 122, 124, and 126. Asexamples and depending on the embodiments/applications, such an ATBcircuit is implement using, or includes or refers to, any of varioustypes of gateway circuits configured to provide a communicationconnection between a private/public network and one or more analog linessuch as a fixed/land line or other line requiring an analog connection.In connection with the contexts illustrated herein, for example, eachgeographic regions 120, 122, 124, and 126 can include an ATB circuitconnected to one or more local lines. Example such ATB circuits includean ATB implemented on/at an endpoint of the private network, using theATB circuit as a conventional stand-alone analog telephone adapter(ATA), or by so configuring a private-branch-exchange (PBX) circuitrywhich directly connects to the analog line or indirectly connects to theanalog line through integrated circuitry acting similar to an ATA. Asanother example, the ATB circuit can be implemented using a primary rateinterface (PRI) circuitry. In such contexts, the ATB circuit can connectto a local line 154 via calls redirected as described above between theprivate and public networks, as applicable for needs such as defined byspecific emergency-service providers and/or endpoints that are not partof the private network (e.g., local or toll free telephone numbers). Ina more specific embodiment in which the ATB circuit is an ATA thatconnects to a local line, the ATA is responsive to and/or uses controldata for connecting to the local line includes and may require obtaininga dial tone using the local line. In other embodiments in which the ATBcircuit does not include an ATA, similar operations would be carried outusing a related communications circuit controlled by one of the(VoIP-enabled) servers, whereby the communication circuit responds tothe control data by connecting to the local (analog) line whether adedicated local line or to any combination of one or more land lines.

Although the embodiment of FIG. 1A illustrates a single local lineconnected to the particular ATB circuit 152, one may appreciate thateach of the ATB circuits illustrated are associated with one or morelocal lines. Similarly, embodiments include a plurality of differentclient-entities, and are not limited to one client entity (client A) asillustrated by FIG. 1A.

As a specific example, a user using an endpoint within the privatenetwork 114 may call an emergency service provider, such as the localpolice (e.g., 911 in the United States, 999 and/or 112 in the UnitedKingdom). Assume a local branch is located in the United Kingdom and thetelephone extension for the local branch is 209X (e.g., 2095, 2096).When a user dials 112 to call the police using the particular endpoint144, a respective ATB circuit 152 is activated. The ATB circuit 152 hasa local line 154 connected to it, such as a local dedicated line and/ora PRI line, and is used to automatically dial 112 on the public network108 and bridges the call. The address registered is the address of thelocal line 154 and the emergency call is directed properly using the ATBcircuit 152. Each branch of the private network 114 can correspond witha geographic location. The emergency service provider (e.g., 152) has a112 extension locally, and globally, the extension is unique so that thecalls are correctly routed (e.g., 432112, 433112, 434112). A user at theparticular branch can dial 112 (or 911), and the system identifies thecorrect branch and routes the call via the identification (e.g.,432112).

As another specific example, a user using an endpoint 142 within theprivate network 114 calls a local telephone number and/or a toll-freetelephone number. A digit can be used as an extension number provided tothe ATB circuit 152 with connectivity to the public network. Forexample, the user may dial an 8 to enable the ATB circuit 152. Inresponse to dialing the 8 on the endpoint 142 and the ATB circuit 152being activated, the ATB circuit 152 opens the local line 154 and therest of the digits dialed by the user are passed through the local line154 (e.g., as a dual tone multi frequency (DTMF)). Accordingly, thelocal line dials the remaining numbers. For example, if a user dials818001231234 on the endpoint 142 with the private network 114, the ATBcircuit 152 is activated and, using the local line 154, the number1-800-123-1234 is dialed. The digit (e.g., 8) can appear as a prefix todial local or toll free numbers from within the private network 114.After the digit is dialed, no waiting occurs as the ATB circuit isactivated and the remaining digits are passed quickly by the ATB circuitvia the local line to call the local or toll free number.

An endpoint that is part of the local branch can utilize the ATB circuitfrom a variety of geographic locations. As a specific example, theendpoint 144 can include a cellphone and/or other mobile device that canbe utilized to make telephone calls. Regardless of the physical locationwhere the endpoint 144 is located, the user can connect to anotherendpoint within a public network 108 via the ATB circuit 152. Forexample, the user dials the number (e.g., 911 or other emergency numberand/or a local or toll free number starting with a digit) and the callis connected to the endpoint of the public network 108 utilizing the ATBcircuit 152 with the local line 154 connection in that local branch.Specifically, the mobile phone application provides data to a cloudsystem, the cloud system provides data to the ATB circuit 152 via a NATcircuit 110, and the ATB circuit 152 directs a call to the endpoint withthe public network (e.g., the local service provider 156) via a localline 154 connected to the ATB circuit 152.

The caller ID presented to the called party can include an identifier(e.g., extension) that corresponds to the requesting (e.g., callee)endpoint. As an example, the particular endpoint 144 is a cellphonehaving an extension of 1-650-123-1234. The caller ID presented for callsrequested by the endpoint 144 can be 1-650-123-1234 regardless of aphysical location that the endpoint 144 is at. In some embodiments, thecaller ID may be revised based on a client-specific data set. Theclient-specific data sets can be controlled by the clients remotely fromthe telecommunication service provider, such as by using theclient-specific-control engine 112.

The communication network 100 includes one or more processing circuitsconfigured to implement client-specific control engine 112, which isconfigured to adjust the VoIP communications provided for each clientaccount according to a set of control directives. For instance, theclient-specific control engine 112 may adjust routing of a VoIP call fora client account by generating client-specific sets of control data tothe telecommunications-providing server 102. For example, theclient-specific control engine 112 may generate client-specific sets ofdata (e.g., control data) by processing the respective set of controldirectives for the account in response to VoIP call event data or otherdata prompts received from the telecommunications-providing servers 102,104. The control directives for a client account may be configured toadjust routing of a particular VoIP call in response to call event dataindicating a new incoming call to an endpoint of the client account.Further, the client-specific control can allow for a client entity torevise caller IDs presented for a VoIP call when communicating betweenthe private network and the public network. Although the embodiment ofFIG. 1A illustrates a single client-specific control engine, embodimentsare not so limited and can include a plurality of client-specificcontrol engines. For example, each client entity that is a customer ofthe telecommunication service provider can have and/or can access aclient-specific control engine.

Different embodiments may process the control directives differently tomake control decisions for the client entity. For instance, in someembodiments, the control directives may be executed on a processor.Additionally or alternatively, control directives may be specified usinga high-level programing language that is compiled and executed in avirtual language environment (e.g., Java). Additionally oralternatively, control directives may be specified in a look up tablethat is accessed in response to call events. Additionally oralternatively, the directives may describe circuits (e.g., in a hardwaredescriptive language) that are hardware accelerated by implementing thecircuit in a field programmable gate array.

The control directives for a client account may generate theclient-specific sets of control data based on various data metricsincluding, for example, VoIP call events or data received from the VoIPcommunication server, user input (e.g., input via dial-tones and/orGUI), data acquired from a client entity (e.g., from a client database),and/or data provided by third parties (e.g., third party monitoringservices). The client-specific control engine 112 communicates theclient-specific control data to the VoIP communication server(s) usingan interface protocol having an instruction format that is independentof an instruction format used to implement the client-specific controlengine 112 and/or client-specific control directives. The independentinstruction format of the interface protocol allows clients to writecontrol directives including complex logic and various data sources, forexample, using various different high-level languages without regard tothe particular language used to implement or communicate with the VoIPcomputing server. For example, a set of control directives for a firstclient entity may be defined using a first instruction language that isdifferent than a second instruction language used by a client-specificcontrol engine to communicate with the VoIP server. A set of controldirectives for a second client entity may be defined using a thirdinstruction language that is different than the first and secondinstruction languages. In some embodiments, the instruction set of theinterface protocol may be configured to limit customer control overcertain VoIP communication settings—thereby preventing clients fromdisrupting operations of the computing service with faultyclient-specified directive code.

Different embodiments may implement the client-specific controlengine(s) 112 in various locations. For example, client-specific controlengine(s) 112 for one or more client accounts may be implemented in acentral server connected to, or incorporated with, thetelecommunications-providing server(s) 102, 104. Additionally oralternatively, one or more client-specific control engines 112 may beimplemented by one or more processing circuits maintained by the cliententity (e.g., server/database). Similarly, the control directives may bestored locally within the client-specific control engines, or storedremotely (e.g., in a centralized database, in a database maintained bythe client entity or a combination thereof).

As previously described, client-specific control engines may be used tofacilitate adjustment of a variety of remote services including, forexample, VoIP communication services such as VoIP calls, revised callerIDs, audio and/or video conferencing, IPBX exchange servers, packetswitching, and traffic management as well as non-VoIP servicesincluding, but not limited to, website hosting, remote data storage,remote computing services, and/or virtual computing environments.

As an illustrative example, a VoIP service provider may include aplurality of geographically distributed VoIP servers (e.g.,telecommunications-providing server 102 and 104 which can include SIPand/or media relay servers) for routing of VoIP calls. When a VoIPserver (e.g., 102) receives a service request (e.g., endpointregistration and/or connection request) from a private network endpoint,the VoIP server can determine the geographic region of theregistering/calling endpoint (or callee endpoint). Using the geographicregions, the telecommunications-providing server 102 can select one ofthe available telecommunications-providing servers 102 and 104 toprovide VoIP service for the endpoint, select data paths (e.g.,telephone and/or data carriers), and/or select various other resourcesfor connecting to the endpoint as previously described.

In specific embodiments, the region-based NAT circuit 110 is used toperform region-based NAT using an exclusive subset of public IPaddresses for each respective one of the geographic regions 120, 122,124, and 126. In this example, the region-based NAT circuit 110 includesa WAN-side network interface circuit configured to communicate data overa public network 108 (e.g., the internet) using a set of public IPaddresses. The region-based NAT circuit 110 includes a LAN-side networkinterface circuit configured to communicate data over the privatenetwork 114 using a set of private IP addresses. A NAT processingcircuit performs NAT on data packets communicated between the networkinterface circuits using a different subset of public IP addresses foreach of the geographic regions 120, 122, 124, and 126.

By performing NAT using different public IP addresses for different onesof the geographic regions 120, 122, 124, and 126, geographic regions ofthe endpoints in the private network 114 may be determined by WAN-sidedevices based on the public IP address used for NAT. As an illustrativeexample, one or more servers 102 and 104 connected in the public network108 may determine a geographic region of an endpoint in the privatenetwork 114 in response to receiving a connection request data packetfrom the endpoint. The server (e.g., telecommunications-providing server102) may determine the geographic region of an endpoint, for example, bylooking up a source IP address of the received data packet in a database106. The database maps the public IP addresses used for NAT togeographic regions 120, 122, 124, and 126 in the private network 114.

In some embodiments, the one or more of the servers 102 and 104 areconfigured to perform location-based routing using the geographic regiondetermined for the endpoint. For example, after determining thegeographic region of the endpoint requesting service, a server (e.g.,102) may select various resources to provide the requested service tothe endpoint based on the determined geographic region. In someembodiments, resources are selected by one of the servers available forproviding the requested service to the endpoint. Alternatively oradditionally, the resources may be selected by a separate server (e.g.,a load-distribution server or a DNS).

As previously described, selection of resources may select one of theservers 102 and 104 to provide service to the endpoint, network pathsfor communicating data to the endpoint, various private network node(e.g., access points 116 and 118), communication settings (transmissionprotocols, encryption, forward error correction, and/or audio or videocodec), or various combinations thereof. The resources may be selectedbased on the determined geographic region of the requesting endpoint,geographic location of the access point(s) 116 and 118 and/or server(s),102 and 104, transmission characteristics of the data paths in thepublic and private networks (e.g., bandwidth, latency, dropped datapackets, BER), traffic load of the access point and/or servers, the typeof data to be communicated (e.g., text, images, webpage, voice/audio,and/or video), or various combinations thereof.

A telecommunication service provider can convert or translate addressesof endpoints for effective communications within a larger communicationsnetwork or set of networks. Endpoints in the private network can havevarious caller IDs that are provided along with a VoIP call and that areassociated with different geographic regions of the entity. Therespective entity can control various processing, including routing andrevising caller IDs, by communicating with thetelecommunications-providing server and generating client-specific setsof data. The telecommunications-providing server providestelecommunication services, between endpoints in the private networkand/or in the public network, based on the client-specific data sets.For example, an endpoint 130 provides a data packet to a port oftelecommunications-providing server 104 to request a VoIP call. Inresponse to a data packet received at a port of thetelecommunications-providing server 104 requesting the VoIP call, thetelecommunications-providing server 104 determines a geographic regionthat an endpoint identified using the data packet (e.g., the called orreceiving endpoint) is located and whether a local line 154 should beaccessed. As previously described, the local line 154 may be accessedwhen the called endpoint is associated with a land line and/or thepublic network.

In response to an indication that the local line 154 should be accessed,the telecommunications-providing server 104 revises a caller ID for theVoIP call based on the client-specific sets of data, based on anidentifier that corresponds to an endpoint requesting the VoIP call, andbased on the determined geographic region. The revision is based on aset of rules established by the respective entity, identification of aphysical location of the requesting endpoint 130 and a location of thecalled number. The caller ID can be revised to a local number identifiedby the determined geographic region, such as the location of the calledendpoint and/or the location of the emergency service provider/where theuser is actually located. In various embodiments, the local line 154 isused to connect the call via the ATB circuit 152. In other embodimentsand/or in addition, such as for an additional requested VoIP call, thecalled number is not connected through a local line but through aprovisioned VoIP number, such as when calling another endpoint in theprivate network and/or when contacting emergency service providersthrough existing local lines is not possible or feasible. The receivingendpoint, in response to the dial tone being connected, receives atransposed number indicating that the call is being made from the localnumber using the revised caller ID.

In specific embodiments, the telecommunications-providing server 102 canset aside a plurality of provisioned VoIP numbers and/or local numbersfor one or more client entities. For example, for a particular cliententity the plurality of provisioned VoIP numbers and/or local numbersare set aside for different geographic regions and used for revisingcaller IDs and/or connecting to the public network. A set of localnumbers in different areas can be provisioned for a client entity at thecompany level. In other embodiments, the provisioned VoIP numbers areused to connect to emergency services when existing numbers in the areamay not be used to connect to emergency services. The provisioned VoIPnumber from the set and which is set aside for the determined geographicregion (of the call and/or where the requesting endpoint is physicallylocated) is passed through the ATB circuit 152 for connecting to anendpoint in the public network and/or through the telecommunicationproviding server for connecting to a telephone number being called. Theprovisioned VoIP numbers (and/or local numbers used) are associated witha physical address of the respective geographic regions. For example, aprovisioned VoIP number that is set aside for Office A of a cliententity, which is located in California, is associated with the physicaladdress of Office A in California. In this manner, the emergency serviceprovider can identify the physical address where the calling endpoint islocated.

The telecommunications-providing server 102 can determine and revise thecaller ID based on the area code of the extension of the requestingendpoint not matching and/or not being within a threshold distance to anarea code of the called number (among other rules). Area codes that arenot a threshold distance from one another include or refer to area codesthat indicate the endpoints calling and being called are a thresholdphysical distance apart (e.g., not a local call). In some geographicregions, due to populations, multiple areas codes may be used for thesame geographic region (e.g., such as a City or Metropolitan area). Theclient entity can establish the set of rules so that the caller IDs arenot changed when the area codes do not match but the area code of therequesting endpoint and area code of the called number indicate the sameor similar geographic region.

In other embodiments, the telecommunications-providing server 102 candetermine and revise the caller ID based on the requesting endpointbeing physically at a different location than the geographic regionindicated by the extension of the requesting endpoint. Thetelecommunications-providing server 102 identifies the physical locationbased on a public IP address used to send the data packet requesting theVoIP call (e.g., via the mobile application). The public IP address iscompared to a database to identify if the public IP address is known,such as using an assigned mapping for the respective client entity (oranother client entity). For example, the requesting endpoint can beNAT'd behind the same public IP address as known endpoints in ageographic region and/or that the client entity otherwise registers. Theclient entity may, in some embodiments, provide identification andlocation information of public IP addresses that are not part of theprivate network (e.g., locations that employees frequent, contractlocations, temporary rental spaces or other reasons). As a specificexample, a user uses their mobile phone for work and is associated withOffice A in Florida. The user travels to Office B in Wisconsin for workand while in Wisconsin calls the police using their mobile phone. Thetelecommunications-providing server 102 identifies that the user is inWisconsin based on a public IP address in the data packet and/or used tosend the data packet (e.g., NAT'd behind the same public IP address asknown endpoints at the office in Wisconsin), and revises the caller IDto a local number that is associated with the physical address of theoffice in Wisconsin. In other embodiments, thetelecommunications-providing server 102 can use assigned mappings for adifferent client entity to determine the physical location. For example,the user may be connected to an emergency service provider using arevised caller ID that indicates a physical address of a differentclient entity, and without providing the identification of the differentclient entity to the user or the respective client entity and/or withoutproviding an indication that the different client entity is a customerof the telecommunication service provider (e.g., for privacy purposes).

In various specific embodiments, different VoIP calls requested forusers corresponding to a client entity can have caller IDs revisedand/or provisioned VoIP numbers accessed and passed to connectrespective VoIP calls. The telecommunications-providing server 102, foreach VoIP call, can determine if a local line should be accessed and/orif an ATB circuit should be activated, whether a revised caller ID is tobe used, and/or whether to access and pass a provisioned VoIP number (aswell as selecting the VoIP number). The determination can be based onthe client-specific set of data corresponding to the respectiveclient-entity (e.g., a set of rules for revising caller IDs for theclient entity), as well as a determined geographic region of therequesting endpoint and, optionally, the called endpoint. In a number ofembodiments, the telecommunication-providing server 102 can activate anATB circuit for a first VoIP call and revise the caller ID (aspreviously described) and can connect a second VoIP call by accessingand passing a provisioned VoIP call based on the client-specific sets ofdata. The first and second VoIP calls can be for the same for the sameclient entity or different client entities.

FIG. 1B shows a communication network 101, configured in accordance withone or more embodiments. The communication network 101, as illustratedby FIG. 1B, can include the same or different network as illustrated byFIG. 1A in various embodiments. For example, FIG. 1B can include anillustration of one geographic region of the system of FIG. 1A. Asillustrated by FIG. 1B, the private network 160 includes an ATB circuit168 that is connected to a local line. However, embodiments can includesystems having a plurality of geographic regions, each geographic regionincluding an ATB circuit connected to a local line.

A particular entity associated with Office A of the private network 160can establish a set of rules for revising the caller IDs for calls beingmade. The set of rules can be part of the client-specific set of dataand can correspond to different hierarchy levels of the entity, such asentity wide rules, geographic region rules, office rules, and endpointspecific rules. The endpoints 158, 162, 164, 166 can be distributedand/or otherwise correspond with a particular geographic region (e.g.,are distributed across Office A). The endpoints 158, 162, 164, 166 canhave an identifier which identifies the respective endpoint, itscorresponding geographic region, and an associated extension (e.g., howto reach the endpoint). The extension can correspond with a local numberthat is provided as a caller ID when the endpoint makes a call toanother endpoint in a public network or part of another private network.For example, the endpoint 158 has an extension of 441234, with the “44”indicating the geographic region of Office A and the identifier “1234”identifying a particular endpoint. When the particular endpoint 158makes a call, a caller ID that is local to the geographic region ofwhich Office A is located is provided (e.g., 650-123-1234).

In various instances, the client entity may control revision of thecaller IDs so that a call appears to be made from a location which theendpoint is not located and/or so that the call appears to be from aphysical location that the endpoint is located. For example, theparticular endpoint 158 is mobile and can travel to different locations.When the endpoint 158 is physically located at a different location thanOffice A, the caller ID can be revised to a local number of the physicallocation. As an example, a user is travelling for work and located atOffice B in a different geographic location. If the user calls emergencyservice (e.g., 911 or 8_911), the telecommunications-providing server102 revises the caller ID to a local number of the different geographiclocation, as further described and illustrated by FIGS. 2A-2B. Further,in some instances, when the user calls an endpoint of the privatenetwork or the public network (for purposes other than emergencyservices), the caller ID may be revised. For example, other endpointscalling from Office B (or other locations) may be provided a revisedcaller ID when called by the user using endpoint 158 to indicate thatthe user is not at their home office and/or to indicate where the userpresently is located. Although embodiments are not so limited and cliententities may revise caller IDs for a variety of purposes and in avariety of manners by communicating using the interface protocol.

The telecommunications-providing server 102 can identify whether thecaller ID should be revised by comparing a geographic region of anidentifier corresponding to the requesting endpoint to the determinedgeographic region where the called endpoint is located (e.g., identifiedby an IP address) and/or a current physical location of the requestingendpoint. For example, the caller ID assigned to the requesting endpointis identified and replaced with the revised caller ID using aclient-specific set of data of the client entity that is associated withthe requesting endpoint. The caller ID is revised in response to thegeographic region associated with the identifier being different thanthe determined geographic region where the endpoint is located and/orthe current physical location of the requesting endpoint. In someembodiments, the ATB circuit 168 is activated for connecting over thelocal line. In other embodiments, the telecommunications-providingserver accesses and passes a provisioned VoIP number for connecting(e.g., bridging or routing) the call and using the revised caller ID. Ifthe geographic region associated with the identifier are the same and/orwithin a threshold distance, as established by a client-specific set ofdata, from the determined geographic region where the endpoint islocated and/or the current location of the requesting endpoint, thecaller ID is not revised.

In specific embodiments, the telecommunication-providing server 102 usesa variable extension protocol to interpret whether the data packetreceived at the first port either corresponds to an extension thatidentifies the endpoint in a private network or corresponds toinformation for connecting over the local line through the ATB circuit168. For example, the telecommunications-providing server 102 uses avariable extension protocol to interpret and identify a first branchoffice (e.g., Office A) of the requesting endpoint (identified by anidentifier in the data packet) and a second branch where the requestingendpoint is currently physically located (e.g., Office B) and usinganother IP address in the data packet (e.g., a known public IP addresswhich maps to other known endpoints in the geographic region and/or isregistered by the client-entity). For example, thetelecommunications-providing server 102 uses a variable extensionprotocol to interpret and identify a first branch office (e.g., OfficeA) where the requesting endpoint identified by an identifier in the datapacket is located and a geographic location of the called number.

As previously discussed in connection with FIG. 1A, the ATB circuit 168is used to communicate between the private network 160 and an endpoint(e.g., public number 170) of a public network. For example, the ATBcircuit 168 connects a VoIP call from the private network 160 to thepublic network via the local line. The local line can be used to connectto a local service provider. The local service provider can beassociated with a public (telephone) number 170 that is connected by theATB circuit 168 via the local line. Example local service providers caninclude venders, customers, and/or other service providers with a localor toll-free number and/or emergency service providers, such as thepolice, fire department, and/or a local emergency number (e.g., 911). Inspecific embodiments, the ATB circuit 168 can couple and connectsimultaneous calls. For example, the ATB circuit 168 can be coupled toone local line, such as a dedicated land line, or a plurality of a landlines.

The ATB circuit 168 can connect endpoints in the private network 160 tothe public network by redirecting a VoIP call to the public network 108.The private network 160 can include a plurality of endpoints 162, 164,and 166 and the public network can include a plurality of endpoints. Inspecific embodiments, the private network 160 can include a plurality ofaccess points, as described in connection with FIG. 1A, forcommunicating data between the private network and the public network.Each access point can use at least one IP address of each of the subsetsexclusively for NAT of data communicated between the access points, asdescribed above.

A processing circuit connected to the private network and the publicnetwork performs the communication by providing an assigned mappingthrough which the first set of respective IP addresses in the privatenetwork 160 are associated with the second set of IP addresses of thepublic network 108. The processing circuit can be part of and/or includethe telecommunications-providing server 102. In specific embodiments,the communications between the private network 160 and public network108 are enabled for NAT in communications by the endpoints in one ormore geographic regions via the mapping. For example, the assignedmapping includes identification of a local line, which is connected toan ATB circuit 168 associated with the respective geographic region. Thelocal line has an identifier among the second set of respective IPaddresses.

In various embodiments, the mapping is based on determined geographicregions of the endpoints 162, 164, and 166 in the private network 160.For example, geographic locations of the plurality of endpoints 162,164, and 166 in the private network 160 can be determined and theendpoints 162, 164, and 166 can be segmented into geographic regionsbased on the determined geographic locations. A data mapping of eachrespective geographic region to a subset of the first IP addressesassigned to the endpoints 162, 164, and 166 located within therespective geographic region is stored in a database, such as by thetelecommunications-providing server 102.

The system can be used to direct telecommunication calls via datapackets received by the telecommunications-providing server 102. Thetelecommunications-providing server 102 can be part of a VoIP PRIGateway that uses a variable extension protocol to enable direct routingof calls between endpoints via the private and the public networks. Inresponse to a data packet received at a first port of atelecommunications-providing server 102 and having a first IP address ofthe first set of IP addresses (e.g., identifying an endpoint in theprivate network), the data packet is used to determine a geographicregion that the endpoint identified by the first IP address is located.Further, the data packet is used to determine whether a local lineshould be accessed for the requested call.

The data packet received at the first port can include data identifyingthe other endpoint (e.g., the receiving endpoint) that the endpoint isattempting to call. For example, the data packet can include anextension that identifies the other endpoint or corresponds toinformation for connecting over the local line through the ATB circuit168. The telecommunications-providing server 102 can use a variableextension protocol to interpret whether the subset of the data packetreceived at the first port either corresponds to an extensionidentifying another endpoint in the private network or in the publicnetwork. Specifically, the variable extension protocol can be used tointerpret whether the subset of the data packet received at the firstport either corresponds to an extension identifying another endpoint orcorresponds to information for connecting over the local line.Alternatively and/or in addition, the variable extension protocol can beused to interpret and identify which of a plurality of differentextensions in a branch office (e.g., a geographic region) is targeted bythe data packet at the first port. For example, thetelecommunications-providing server 102 can use the variable extensionprotocol to interpret whether the subset of the data pack eithercorresponds to the extension that identifies the other endpoint orcorresponds to information for connecting over the local line throughthe ATB circuit 168 and is used to further interpret and identify whichof a plurality of different extensions in the branch office is targetedby the data packet received at the first port.

In response to the endpoint identified by the first IP addressindicating that the local line should be accessed, the ATB circuit 168is activated. The indication that the local line should be accessed caninclude the call number for the VoIP call including an emergency serviceprovider number (e.g., 911) and/or a digit indicating a local telephonenumber or toll free-number (e.g., an “8” before the telephone number ofseven digits, ten digits, or eleven digits, such as 8-123-1234,8-123-123-1234, and 8-1-800-123-1234). As described above, the ATBcircuit 168 can thereby redirect and connect to an emergency line whichis specific to the geographic region and assigned for emergency calls ofcertain type and that are initiated on behalf of the private network.

The ATB circuit 168 can be activated by the control data. For example,the telecommunications-providing server 102 and/or the region-based NAT110 can send the control data to the ATB circuit 168 using theidentifier among the second set of respective IP addresses. The controldata can be provided to directly or indirectly control the ATBactivation. Examples of indirect control include sending the first IPaddress, the source address, and a NAT'd data packet. In variousspecific embodiments, the region-based NAT is used to replace the firstIP address in a source address of the received data packet with thesecond IP address to produce a NAT'd data packet. The NAT'd data packetis used for information (such as the control data or a portion thereof),for connecting over the local line through the ATB circuit 168. The ATBcircuit 168 responds to the control data by connecting to the localline, such as a local dedicated line and/or a PRI. In response to theactivation, the call associated with the data packet received at thefirst port (of the telecommunications-providing server 102) isredirected to the public network by obtaining a dial tone and passing atleast a subset of the data packet through the ATB circuit 168 forconnecting over the local line.

In response to the endpoint identified by the first IP addressindicating a second IP address of the first set of IP addresses (e.g.,identifying another endpoint in the private network 160), anotheridentifier among the second set of respective IP addresses is used tocause a call associated with the data packet received at the first portof the telecommunications-providing server 102 to be connected (e.g.,bridged or routed) for communications between the endpoint identified bythe first IP address and an endpoint associated with the second IPaddress of the first set of IP addresses.

In various embodiments, an endpoint that is part of the local branch canutilize the ATB circuit 168 from a variety of geographic locations toconnect to an endpoint that is part of a public network. For example,one or more endpoints of the private network 160 can include a cellphoneand/or other mobile devices that can be utilized to make telephonecalls. Regardless of the location that the endpoint is at, the user canconnect to another endpoint within the public network via the ATBcircuit 168, as previously discussed.

The caller ID provided for the call through the ATB circuit 168 caninclude the identifier (e.g., extension) assigned to the requestingendpoint and/or can be a revised caller ID, in various embodiments. Theclient entity can control when and how the caller IDs are revised viaclient-control sets of data. For example, the system includes aprocessing circuit(s) configured to implement client-specific controlengines 112. The client-specific control engines 112 are configured toadjust the remote services (e.g., VoIP communications) provided for eachclient account according to a respective set of control directives. Forinstance, the client-specific control engines 112 may dynamically adjustsettings for the remote services provided for a client (such as by aPaaS computing server) according to the one or more sets of controldirectives specified for the client account.

As described with reference to FIG. 1A, the control directives for aclient account may generate the client-specific sets of control databased on various data metrics including for example, VoIP call events ordata received from the VoIP communication server, data acquired from aclient (e.g., from a client database), and/or data provided by thirdparties (e.g., third party monitoring services). In some embodiments,the control directives may cause the client-specific control engine 112to query data from a client database or from a service providerdatabase. In some embodiments, the control directives may cause theclient-specific control engine 112 to issue an analytics requestspecifying a particular evaluation of data in a database. For example,client-specific control data communicated to a PaaS computing server mayprompt the PaaS computing server to perform a particular analyticalevaluation of data stored in the service provider database. Aftercompleting the requested evaluation, the PaaS computing servercommunicates the result back to the requesting client-specific controlengine. Data retrieved from the databases and/or via analyticsevaluation may be used, for example, to dynamically adjust the providedremote services during operation.

In various specific embodiments, the client-specific control dataincludes a set of rules regarding revising caller IDs for endpoints ofthe client, as previously described. The client-specific control engines112 communicate the client-specific control data to thetelecommunications-providing server(s) 102 using an interface protocolhaving an instruction format that is independent of an instructionformat used to implement the client-specific control engines 112 and/orclient-specific control directives.

As previously described, the independent instruction format of theinterface protocol allows clients to write control directives, forexample, using their preferred high-level programming and/or may be usedto limit customer access and/or control over the PaaS computing server.For example, the interface protocol may be configured to allow theclient-specific control engines to request analytical analysis of datain the service provider database without allowing direct access to theraw data stored therein. Similarly, the client-specific control enginesmay be configured to request analytical analysis of data in the clientdatabase, without allowing direct access to the raw data stored therein.

As described with reference to FIG. 1A, client-specific control engines112 may be implemented in various locations. For example,client-specific control engines 112 for a particular client account maybe implemented in the PaaS computing server(s), in a separate processingcircuit communicatively connected to the PaaS computing server(s), usingone or more processing circuits of the client, or a combination thereof.

The PaaS computing server and client-specific control engines 112 may beimplemented using various circuit arrangements. In an exampleimplementation, a PaaS computing server is configured to provide a VoIPIPBX service for a client. The example computing server can include oneor more IPBX server(s) configured to establish and direct VoIP calls fora plurality of endpoints of a customer account. An interface circuit isconfigured to allow different client-specific control engines tocommunicate with the PaaS computing server via a common high-levellanguage instruction set (e.g., a set of XML instructions).

In an example implementation of a client-specific control engine 112,the client-specific control engine includes a storage circuit configuredto store control directives and/or data for one or more client accounts.A directive execution circuit is configured to provide client-specificcontrol of the remote services provided for a client entity viaexecution of the control directives for the client stored in the storagecircuit. In some implementations, the directive execution circuit isconfigured to communicate client-specific control data to the PaaScomputing server, for example, via interface, using a high-levellanguage instruction set (e.g., a set of extensible meta-data language(XML) instructions). Additionally or alternatively, the directiveexecution circuit may retrieve one or more sets of directives from anexternal source (e.g., a client database). In this example, theclient-specific control engine can include a directive update interfacecircuit configured to facilitate upload and/or editing of controldirectives for a client account.

FIGS. 2A-2B show examples of a process for performing region-basedbridging of a VoIP call using a revised caller ID in accordance with oneor more embodiments. As illustrated by FIG. 2A, at 272, a particularendpoint that corresponds with Office A, travels to another branch ofthe company (e.g., Office B). The endpoint has an extension thatcorresponds to Office A, such as 1-408-123-123. While located at OfficeB, the user has an emergency and calls an emergency service providerusing the endpoint. The emergency call is NAT'd to the public IP addressof other known endpoints with a known location of Office B, at 274. Thetelecommunications-providing server can determine a geographic location,where the endpoint is physically located, by comparing the public IPaddress to known IP addresses of other endpoints of the client entityusing NAT, at 276. Although embodiments are not so limited, and thecomparison can be to an assigned mapping that does not include NAT, suchas other data provided by the client entity, and/or assigned mappings ofother client entities. If there is no match, at 278, a configuration isused for non-public or unknown locations. For example, the call isplaced using an unrevised caller ID. In response to a match, at 280,based on information of the determined geographic region, e.g., OfficeB, the caller ID is revised to a local number associated with thegeographic region. Using the above-provided example, the caller ID canbe revised to a local number that corresponds to Office B when placingthe call to the emergency service. At 282, the call is placed to theemergency service provider using the revised caller ID. Thereby, theemergency service provider may know the location of the caller even ifthe caller cannot talk.

In various embodiments, as previously described, thetelecommunications-providing server activates the ATB circuit forbridging the call to the emergency service provider. The ATB circuitcouples and connects to the local line and bridges communications, usingthe revised caller ID, between the requesting endpoint in a privatenetwork and the endpoint that is associated with an emergency serviceprovider, and which is specific to the determined geographic regionidentified by the data packet and assigned for emergency calls of acertain type that are initiated on behalf of the private network.

As a specific example, Mr. Brown travels to Office B with his mobilephone having the phone number 1-408-123-1234 that corresponds withOffice A. An emergency occurs and Mr. Brown calls 911 (or any emergencynumber). The telecommunications-providing server identifies that Mr.Brown is NAT'd behind the same public IP address as known endpointsdistributed in Office B. Using this information, thetelecommunications-providing server selects a pre-registered localnumber corresponding to Office B. The pre-registered (e.g., provisionedand set aside) local number is associated with a physical address ofOffice B. The call is routed to the police with the revised caller ID(changing the caller-id dynamically to 1-650-123-1234 corresponding withthe physical address of Office B), so that the police know where Mr.Brown is.

Alternatively and/or in addition, the data packet may indicate that therequesting endpoint is physically located in a geographic region inwhich existing local numbers (e.g., using a local line) may not be usedto connect to an emergency service provider. For example, in somegeographic regions, such as France or other countries, thetelecommunication service provider may be unable to issue emergencyservices on existing numbers in the area. Thetelecommunications-providing server can access and pass a provisionedVoIP number for connecting to the endpoint identified, such as theemergency service provider. The provisioned VoIP number can include alocal number of the geographic region where the requesting endpoint isphysically located and that is registered with the emergency serviceprovider. In specific embodiments, the telecommunications-providingserver can set aside a plurality of provisioned VoIP numbers that areset aside for the different geographic regions corresponding to therespective client entity and are registered with the respective localemergency service providers of the different geographic regions. Aspreviously described, various embodiments include use of the ATB circuitto connect a VoIP call with a revised caller ID, and accessing andpassing a provisioned VoIP number for connecting an additional VoIP callwith another revised caller ID, which can be performed for the sameclient-entity or different client-entities.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example process for performing region-basedbridging of a call back to the revised caller ID from the called number,in accordance with one or more embodiments. A user may place a call toan emergency service provider, with a revised caller ID, and maysubsequently hang up or the call may otherwise be disconnected prior tocompleting the call, at 284. The emergency service provider may callback the number, via the revised caller ID. The call is received by thetelecommunications-providing server, at 286. In response to the callbackto the revised caller ID, the telecommunications-providing serveridentifies the requesting endpoint that (last) requested the VoIP callto the emergency service using the client-specific sets of data storedin a database, at 288. For example, using the database, the lastendpoint to call the emergency service (e.g., 911) from the revisedcaller ID is identified, along with the geographic region in which thelast endpoint is physically located, at 290. The extension which isassigned to the endpoint is also identified and used to redirect (e.g.,route) the callback to the (last) requesting endpoint, at 292. Further,the call from the endpoint is redirected to an extension of therequesting endpoint, wherein the extension corresponds to a differentgeographic region than indicated in the revised caller ID (e.g., theextension assigned to the requesting endpoint).

In response to no answer at the redirected call to the requestingendpoint, the call is redirected to an extension of the determinedgeographic region identified by the data packet using theclient-specific sets of data (e.g., where the requesting endpoint isphysically located), at 294. For example, the call can be redirected toan extension corresponding to a front desk or security service of arespective client entity corresponding to the requesting endpoint andthe determined geographic region. The telecommunications-providingserver can identify the extension by accessing a database including theclient-specific sets of data and identifying the extension associatedwith the revised caller ID using a respective client-specific set ofdata corresponding to the client entity that the requesting endpoint isassociated with.

Using the above-provided example of Mr. Brown, after calling the police,Mr. Brown accidently hangs up the phone. The police call back the numberprovided via the revised caller ID of 1-650-123-1234. Upon receiving thecall request, the database of the telecommunication service provider isused to identify that Mr. Brown was the last person to call 911 from thenumber of 1-650-123-1234 from Office B (and which includes theprovisioned VoIP number in some aspects). The call is routed back to the(assigned) extension of Mr. Brown, which is 1-408-123-1234. If Mr. Browndoes not answer the call, the call is routed to an extension of OfficeB, which is established via the client-specific sets of data and caninclude a front desk or security service.

FIGS. 3A-3C show other examples of a process for performing region-basedbridging of a VoIP call using a revised caller identifier in accordancewith one or more embodiments. For various commercial or businessaspects, a caller ID can be revised to appear as though the call is fromthe same (or local) area code as the called telephone number. A localarea call can be shown regardless of the physical location of theendpoint and/or caller, and can be dynamically set up by the entityusing a set of rules that can be hierarchy based. Thereby, the entitydoes not have to provision each individual local number and/or per call.A set of local numbers in different geographic regions can beprovisioned for a client entity at the company level. People who are onthe part of particular groups (e.g., sales groups) can have theiroutbound calls caller ID dynamically adjusted and selected from the poolof the local numbers for the company based on the called number/area forthe most relevant/closest area.

As illustrated by FIG. 3A, at 331, a particular endpoint thatcorresponds with Office A, places a call to a customer at a differentgeographic region than Office A is located. The endpoint has anextension that corresponds to Office A, such as 1-408-123-1234 and thecalled number corresponds to the different geographic region, such as1-650-555-1111. At 333, a determination of whether the area code of thecalled number matches and/or is within a threshold distance from thearea code of the extension is made by the telecommunications-providingserver. In response to the area codes matching and/or indicating thatthe endpoints are within the threshold distance, at 335, the call isplaced using the caller ID assigned to the requesting endpoint (e.g.,using 1-408-123-1234). In response to the area codes not matching and/orindicating that the endpoints are outside the threshold distance fromone another, at 337, a local number is selected based on the area codeof the called number (e.g., 650). The number selected can be from a setof provisioned local numbers (e.g., 1-650-123-1234) for the geographicregion being called. At 339, the call proceeds using the selected localphone number as the revised caller ID.

The telecommunications-providing server, in specific embodiments,activates the ATB circuit for bridging the call to the endpoint in thepublic network using the revised caller ID. The ATB circuit couples andconnects to the local line and bridges communications, using the revisedcaller ID. In other embodiments, the called number is associated with anendpoint of the private network (e.g., another client entity of thetelecommunication-service provider and/or another endpoint associatedwith the same client entity). The telecommunications-providing server,as previously discussed, can set aside a set of provisioned VoIP numbersand/or local numbers for different geographic regions, and pass one ofthe provisioned VoIP numbers set aside for the determined geographicregion through the ATB circuit for connecting to the endpoint in thepublic network, and/or through the telecommunications-providing serverfor bridging the call to another endpoint of the private network.

In various embodiments, the telecommunications-providing serverselectively revises caller IDs for the identified endpoints of theclient entity based on the set of rules. For example, not all called IDsmay be changed. A client entity may set up and/or control the revisionto caller IDs so a subset of endpoints do have revised caller IDs andthe remaining do not have revised caller IDs. The client entity can alsoidentify extensions and/or other forwarding rules for callbacks with noanswer.

FIG. 3B illustrates an example process for selectively performingregion-based bridging and revising caller IDs, in accordance with one ormore embodiments. The steps can include the same steps as illustratedand described in FIG. 3A. As illustrated, in response to determining thearea codes do not match (or prior to), the telecommunications-providingserver, at 325, identifies a set of rules for revising caller IDs forthe client entity. The telecommunications-providing server selectivelyrevises caller IDs for the identified endpoints of the respective cliententity based on the set of rules. For example, based on the identifierof the requesting endpoint, the telecommunications-providing serveridentifies the respective client entity and correspondingclient-specific set of data. The telecommunications-providing servercompares the data packet to the set of rules to determine if the callerID should be revised, at 327. In response to determining the caller IDshould not be revised, at 335, the call proceeds normally. In responseto determining the caller ID should be revised, at 337, a phone numberis selected and the call proceeds, at 339, using the selected phonenumber as the revised caller ID.

FIG. 3C illustrates an example process for performing region-basedbridging of a callback to the revised caller ID from the called number,in accordance with one or more embodiments. A user may place a call to acustomer (or other endpoint), with a revised caller ID, and may notreach the customer and/or for other reasons the customer calls back, at341. The customer may callback the number, via the revised caller ID.The call is received by the telecommunications-providing server. Inresponse to the callback to the revised caller ID, thetelecommunications-providing server identifies the requesting endpointthat (last) requested the VoIP call to the customer using the revisedcaller ID using the client-specific sets of data stored in a database,at 343. For example, using the database, the last endpoint to call thecustomer (e.g., 1-650-555-1111) from the revised caller ID is identified(and which can include a provisioned VoIP number in some aspects). Theextension which is assigned to the endpoint is also identified and usedto redirect (e.g., route) the call back to the requesting endpoint usingthe identified extension, at 345.

In response to no answer at the redirected call to the extension, at347, the telecommunications-providing server identifies if one or moredifferent endpoints in the private network called the customer (e.g.,the called endpoint) using the database. In response to no other callsfrom different endpoints in the private network to the customer numberand/or no calls within a threshold period of time, at 349, the call isredirected to a voicemail corresponding with the requesting endpoint. Inresponse to a call from a different endpoint in the private networkand/or within the threshold period of time, at 351, the call isredirected to an extension of the different endpoint in the privatenetwork.

As a specific example, Mr. Brown is located at Office A and has anextension of 1-408-123-1234. Mr. Brown calls a customer at a phonenumber of 1-650-555-111. In response to the area codes of the extensionand the customer phone number not matching, a phone number is selectedbased on the area code of the customer number (e.g., 650). The callproceeds with the selected number as the revised caller ID, which isprovided to the customer (e.g., 1-650-123-1234). The customer does notanswer and later calls back the revised caller ID of 1-650-123-1234.Upon receiving the call request, the database of the telecommunicationservice provider is used to identify that Mr. Brown was the last personto call the customer from the number of 1-650-123-1234 from Office A.The call is routed back to the extension of Mr. Brown, which is1-408-123-1234. If Mr. Brown does not answer the call, thetelecommunications-providing server determines if another endpointcalled the customer and/or called within a threshold amount of time. Ifnot, the call is routed to the voicemail of Mr. Brown. If so, the callis rerouted to an extension of the other endpoint (e.g.,1-708-123-1234).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example hierarchy of controldirectives for client-specific control by an example client entity, inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Therevision for caller IDs, as previously described, can be based on a setof rules established by the respective client entity. The set of rulescan be part of the client-specific set of data and can correspond todifferent hierarchy levels of the entity, such as entity wide rules,geographic region rules, office rules, and endpoint specific rules.Example rules include revising all caller IDs of an office, revising allcaller IDs of endpoints associated with sales people, revising callerIDs at particular times and/or in response to the called number beinggreater than a threshold distance from the actual caller ID, the callednumber indicating an emergency service is being called and the user isphysically located at a different location than their caller ID wouldotherwise indicate, a set of provisioned VoIP numbers for differentgeographic regions, among many other sets of rules. The client entitycan dynamically update the set of rules based on demands and needs.

As illustrated by FIG. 4, the set of rules for a particular cliententity can be across the entire entity (e.g., high level), specific toparticular geographic regions (e.g., intermediate level), and/orspecific to particular endpoints (e.g., low level). Example rulesinclude revising all caller IDs of an office, revising all caller IDs ofendpoints associated with sales people, revising caller IDs atparticular times and/or in response to the called number being greaterthan a threshold distance from the actual caller ID, the called numberindicating an emergency service is being called and the user isphysically located at a different location than their caller ID wouldotherwise indicate, among many other sets of rules. The client entitycan dynamically update the set of rules based on demands and needs.

In this example, block 461 provides a set of top-level controldirectives that are applicable to all VoIP calls for a client entity.Blocks 463 and 465 show a set of intermediate-level control directivesthat are applicable only to a subset of endpoints included in the clientaccount (e.g., for respective IPBXs, branches, departments, and/orfranchisees). Blocks 467, 469, 471, and 473 are shown as lower-levelcontrol directives that are applicable to particular extensions and/orend-users of the client account. The lower-level control directives maybe useful, for example, for an end-user to customize and/or dynamicallyadjust direction of calls to an extension and/or revision of caller IDsthroughout the day.

Various blocks, modules or other circuits may be implemented to carryout one or more of the operations and activities described herein and/orshown in the figures. As examples, the Specification describes and/orillustrates aspects useful for implementing the claimed invention by wayof various circuits or circuitry using terms such as blocks, modules,device, system, unit, controller, and the like. In these contexts, a“block” (also sometimes “logic circuitry” or “module”) is a circuit thatcarries out one or more of these or related operations/activities (e.g.,a call control circuit). For example, in certain ones of theabove-discussed embodiments, one or more modules are discrete logiccircuits or programmable logic circuits configured and arranged forimplementing these operations/activities, as in the blocks shown in thefigures. Similarly, it will be apparent that a server (e.g., providing acorresponding software platform) includes a computer processing circuitthat is configured to provide services to other circuit-based devices.Moreover, a VoIP endpoint (or endpoint) is a communication circuit thatcan include processing circuits which are configured to establish VoIPcommunication sessions with other devices (e.g., personal computers,IP-enabled mobile phones, and tablet computers). In certain embodiments,such a processing circuit is one or more computer circuits programmed toexecute a set (or sets) of instructions (and/or configuration data). Theinstructions (and/or configuration data) can be in the form of firmwareor software stored in and accessible from a memory (circuit), where suchcircuits are directly associated with one or more algorithms (orprocesses). The activities pertaining to such algorithms are not limitedto the specific flows shown in the flow charts illustrated in thefigures (e.g., where a circuit is programmed to perform the relatedsteps, functions, operations, activities, etc.). The flow charts aremerely specific detailed examples. The skilled artisan would alsoappreciate that different (e.g., first and second) modules can include acombination of a central processing unit (CPU) hardware-based circuitryand a set of computer-executable instructions, in which the first moduleincludes a first CPU hardware circuit with one set of instructions andthe second module includes a second CPU hardware circuit with anotherset of instructions.

Various embodiments are implemented in accordance with the followingU.S. Applications. U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/353,971 filed onJun. 23, 2016, entitled “Client-Specific Control of SharedTelecommunications Services”, U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/240,391 filed Aug. 18, 2016, entitled “Client-Specific Control ofShared Telecommunications Services”, U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.62/353,977 filed Jun. 23, 2016, entitled “Client-Specific Control ofShared Telecommunications Services”, and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/240,457 filed on Aug. 18, 2016, entitled “Client-Specific Controlof Shared Telecommunications Services”, which are all fully incorporatedby reference herein for their general teaching directed to clientcontrol of telecommunications services, and their more specific teachingdirect to an interface implementation and involving communication onboth sides of the interface. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/337,545filed on Oct. 28, 2016 (U.S. Pat. No. 10,027,624), and entitled“Region-Based Redirection and Bridging of Calls”, which is fullyincorporated by reference for its general teaching directed toredirecting and bridging calls, and its specific teaching directed tousing analog-telephone bridging circuits to access local lines. Theaspects discussed therein may be implemented in connection with one ormore of embodiments and implementations of the present disclosure (aswell as with those shown in the figures). In view of the descriptionherein, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may bemade thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure.

Certain embodiments are directed to a computer program product (e.g.,nonvolatile memory device), which includes a machine orcomputer-readable medium having stored instructions which may beexecuted by a computer (or other electronic device) to perform theseoperations/activities. For example, these instructions reflectactivities or data flows as may be exemplified in the flow chart. Asanother example, where the Specification may make reference to a “first[type of structure]”, a “second [type of structure]”, etc., where the[type of structure] might be replaced with terms such as [“circuit”,“circuitry” and others], the adjectives “first” and “second” are notused to connote any description of the structure or to provide anysubstantive meaning; rather, such adjectives are merely used forEnglish-language antecedence to differentiate one such similarly-namedstructure from another similarly-named structure (e.g., “first circuitconfigured to convert . . . ” is interpreted as “circuit configured toconvert . . . ”).

Based upon the above discussion and illustrations, those skilled in theart will readily recognize that various modifications and changes may bemade to the various embodiments without strictly following the exemplaryembodiments and applications illustrated and described herein. Forexample, although aspects and features may in some cases be described inindividual figures, it will be appreciated that features from one figurecan be combined with features of another figure even though thecombination is not explicitly shown or explicitly described as acombination. Such modifications do not depart from the true spirit andscope of various aspects of the disclosure, including aspects set forthin the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a data communicationsserver configured and arranged to provide data communications servicerelationships with a plurality of disparate client entities bycontrolling communication between endpoint devices respectivelyassociated with each of the plurality of disparate client entities; aprocessing circuit configured and arranged to, for each of the pluralityof disparate client entities, communicate with the data communicationsserver by generating client-specific sets of data, and by conveying theclient-specific sets of data over an interface protocol, wherein thedata communications server and each of the plurality of disparate cliententities are configured and arranged with the interface protocol tofacilitate permissible types of communications; and wherein the datacommunications server is further configured and arranged to: respond toa data packet requesting a data communication by determining ageographic region that an endpoint device identified using the datapacket is located and whether a local data path should be accessed;respond to the data packet indicating that a local data path should beaccessed by: revising an identification (ID) for the data communicationbased on the client-specific sets of data, and based on the determinedgeographic region; and redirecting the data communication by passing atleast a subset of the data packet over the local data path, the subsetof the data packet including the revised ID that includes a localidentifier based on the determined geographic region.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein another endpoint device, through which the data pathis connected, receives a transposed number indicating a datacommunication is being made from the local identifier using the revisedID.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data communications serveris configured to: set aside a plurality of provisioned datacommunications identifiers that are set aside for different geographicregions, and pass a provisioned data communications identifier, which isamong the plurality of provisioned data communications identifiers andwhich is set aside for the determined geographic region, through thelocal data path for connecting to the endpoint device being contacted.4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data communications server isfurther configured and arranged to identify whether the ID, whichcorresponds to an endpoint device requesting the data communication,should be revised by: comparing a geographic region of an identifiercorresponding to the requesting endpoint device to a current physicallocation of the requesting endpoint device; in response to thegeographic region associated with the identifier being different thanthe current physical location of the requesting endpoint device,revising the ID to include the local identifier based on the determinedgeographic region; and in response to the geographic region associatedwith the identifier being within a threshold distance from the currentphysical location of the requesting endpoint device, using the IDcorresponding to the requesting endpoint device for the datacommunication.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the datacommunications server uses a variable extension protocol to interpretwhether the data packet received corresponds to an extension thatidentifies the endpoint device in a private network or corresponds toinformation for connecting over the local data path and is furtherconfigured and arranged to respond to the endpoint device indicating thelocal data path should be accessed by: replacing an ID corresponding toan endpoint device requesting the data communication with the revisedID; and activating a bridging circuit for connecting over the local datapath.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data communicationsserver is further configured and arranged to use a variable extensionprotocol to interpret and identify a first branch office that anendpoint device requesting the data communication identified by anidentifier in the data packet and a second branch that the requestingendpoint device is currently physically located at using anotheridentifier in the data packet.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, theapparatus further including a bridging circuit configured and arrangedto couple and connect to the local data path and bridge communications,using the revised ID, between an endpoint device requesting the datacommunication in a private network and an endpoint device that isassociated with an emergency service which is specific to the determinedgeographic region identified by the data packet and assigned foremergency communications of a certain type that are initiated on behalfof the private network.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the datacommunications server is further configured and arranged to respond to adata communication to the revised ID from an endpoint device requestingthe data communication by: identifying the requesting endpoint devicethat requested the data communication to the endpoint device associatedwith the emergency service using the client-specific sets of data storedin a database; and redirecting the data communication from therequesting endpoint device to an extension of the requesting endpointdevice, wherein the extension corresponds to a different geographicregion than indicated in the revised ID.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8,wherein the data communications server is further configured andarranged to redirect the data communication from the endpoint deviceassociated with the emergency service to an extension of the determinedgeographic region identified by the data packet and corresponding to afront desk or security service of a respective disparate client entityof the requesting endpoint device and the geographic region using theclient-specific sets of data.
 10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein thedata communications server is further configured and arranged toredirect the data communication to the extension by accessing a databaseincluding the client-specific sets of data and identifying the extensionassociated with the revised ID using a respective client-specific set ofdata corresponding to a respective disparate client entity that therequesting endpoint device is associated with.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured andarranged to communicate identification of endpoint devices of arespective disparate client entity that the data communications serveris to revise the ID based on a set of rules, and wherein the datacommunications server is further configured and arranged to selectivelyrevise IDs for the identified endpoint devices of the respective cliententity based on the set of rules.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, theapparatus further including: a bridging circuit configured and arrangedfor coupling and connecting to the local data path and bridgingcommunications between an endpoint device requesting the datacommunication in a private network and the endpoint device in a publicnetwork which is located in the geographic region using the revised ID,and wherein the data communications server is configured to set aside aset of provisioned data communications identifiers that are set asidefor different geographic regions, and to pass one of the provisioneddata communications identifiers set aside for the determined geographicregion through the bridging circuit for connecting to the endpointdevice in the public network.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein thedata communications server is further configured and arranged to respondto a data communication to the revised ID from an endpoint devicerequesting the data communication by: identifying the requestingendpoint device that last requested the data communication using theclient-specific sets of data, and redirecting the data communicationfrom the endpoint device to an extension corresponding to the requestingendpoint device.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the datacommunications server is further configured and arranged to identify anID assigned to an endpoint device requesting the data communication andreplace the ID of the requesting endpoint device with the revised IDusing a client-specific set of data of one of the disparate cliententities associated with the requesting endpoint device.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein for each of the plurality of disparateclient entities, the processing circuit generates the client-specificsets of data by executing a set of instructions specified in arespective set of control directives for the client entity.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein for a first one of the plurality ofdisparate client entities, the processing circuit generates theclient-specific sets of data by executing a set of instructionsspecified in a respective set of control directives for the cliententity, the set of instructions being specified in a first instructionlanguage; and the client-specific sets of data specify client-specificcommunications routing commands in a second instruction language that isdifferent from the first instruction language.
 17. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the data communications server is further configuredand arranged to: respond to another data packet received at the datacommunications server requesting an additional data communication bydetermining a geographic region that an additional endpoint deviceidentified using the data packet is located and whether a local datapath should be accessed; revise an ID for the additional datacommunication based on the client-specific sets of data, and based onthe determined geographic region; and connect the additional datacommunication by accessing and passing a provisioned data communicationsnumber, the provisioned data communications number including the revisedID that includes a local number identified by the determined geographicregion that the additional endpoint device is located.
 18. A methodcomprising: providing data communications service relationships with aplurality of disparate client entities by controlling communicationbetween endpoint devices respectively associated with each of theplurality of disparate client entities; for each of the plurality ofdisparate client entities, generating client-specific sets of dataindicative of client-specific communications routing, and conveying thegenerated client-specific sets of data over an interface protocol viacommunication between a data communications server and a processingcircuitry of each of the plurality of disparate client entities that areconfigured and arranged with an interface protocol to facilitatepermissible types of communications; responding to a data packet requestfor a data communication by determining a geographic region that anendpoint device identified using the data packet is located and whethera local data path should be accessed; and responding to the data packetindicating that a local data path should be accessed by: revising anidentification (ID) for the data communication based on theclient-specific sets of data, and based on the determined geographicregion; and causing control data to be sent to activate a bridgingcircuit and redirect the data communication by passing at least a subsetof the data packet through the bridging circuit for connecting over thelocal data path, the subset of the data packet including the revised IDthat includes a local identifier based on the determined geographicregion.
 19. The method of claim 18, further including using a variableextension protocol to interpret and identify a first branch office thata requesting endpoint device identified by an identifier in the datapacket corresponds to and a second branch that the requesting endpointdevice is currently physically located at using another identifier inthe data packet.
 20. The method of claim 18, further includingresponding to the data packet indicating that a local line should beaccessed by revising the ID for the data communication based on anextension or identifier that corresponds to an endpoint devicerequesting the data communication.